


Destruction

by AnnaOnTheMoon



Series: A Tangled Web [5]
Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: 2350s, Adoption, Angst, Blended family, F/M, Family, Family Drama, La Barre, Marriage, Melancholy, Pregnancy, Presumed Death, Romance, Runaway, Starfleet, Stargazer era, Tragedy, missing family members, starbase 32
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-26
Updated: 2018-07-10
Packaged: 2019-05-29 04:08:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 29,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15064811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnaOnTheMoon/pseuds/AnnaOnTheMoon
Summary: Sequel to Prize.  When the Stargazer is destroyed, will it destroy relationships or strengthen them?





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the next installment of A Tangled Web! Just a short chapter to start things off....
> 
> It's helpful if you read both Consolation and Prize before Destruction, as that sets up the characters. Please see the timeline file for more information. 
> 
> Apologies for this being so short, but consider Chapter One a prologue....

_Two years later...._

Jean-Luc awoke to the sound of giggles followed by a 'shhh'. He pretended to remain sleeping when the small body belonging to his step-son jumped on the bed.  
  
"Happy birthday Papa!!"  
  
"Oof. Thanks Wes."  
  
"Mommy said you're fifty now. That's old!!" Jean-Luc pretended to be indignant. "Excuse me?"  
  
"Fifty is a big number. It's half of 100, twice of twenty-five, five times ten, and..." Wesley scrunched up his face to do calculations, "six point two five times my age."  
  
"Ah, but you're not eight for another two weeks."  
  
"Seven point one four."  
  
"Good lad." From near the bed, a tiny voice spoke. "Pup pup. Birfdee. Wessy up!"  
  
Wesley got off the bed and helped his half-sister, Jean-Luc's adopted granddaughter, onto the bed. Katie clapped her hands. "Birfdee!!"  
  
"It's Papa's birthday. Remember what we practiced?" Wesley leaned close to whisper in the two-year-old's ear. She grinned and climbed onto Jean-Luc's chest. "Hap E birfdee Pup Pup!"  
  
"Thank you." Jean-Luc glanced over at the doorway where his adopted adult daughter, Annisyn, stood. "Well, come on. It's pile everyone into the bed day." Annisyn blushed slightly. She had only been part of the family since a month before her daughter had been born and still felt awkward during family moments. Behind her, Beverly nudged the younger woman forward. "Come on. Can't let the children have all the fun."  
  
Annisyn grinned and sat on the bed. "Happy birthday, Papa." She leaned over and kissed his cheek.  
  
Beverly carried a PADD in her hand as she walked towards the bed. She got in and Katie automatically snuggled into her side. "Morning, Katie."  
  
"Maw maw birfdee?"  
  
"No, only Pup Pup's. But shall we give him his present?"  
  
"I get a present too? Excellent." Beverly leaned over Katie and gave him a lingering kiss. She pressed the PADD into his hands. "Happy birthday, Papa."  
  
Jean-Luc studied the grainy black and white image on the display. In small letters at the top were the words _'Beverly Picard / Jean-Luc Picard / March 2356'_.  He gasped. "Are we?" Beverly slowly nodded.  
  
Jean-Luc wasted no time pulling Beverly on top of him and kissed her deeply.  
  
"Yuck," Wesley made a face. Annisyn laughed. "Come on, let's leave Papa and Mom alone so they can celebrate Papa's birthday."  
  
The couple didn't even notice when the door slid shut behind the children.

###

Jean-Luc stepped off the turbolift onto the bridge, only slightly later than he was scheduled to. “Birthday boy on bridge!” 

“Very funny, Number One. Report.” 

“Not much.  We’re still surveying the planet and its moons.”

“Pretty routine mapping mission then.”  Jean-Luc watched as Walker fingered his pocket.  “Wal? What’s with the pocket bulge?”

“Oh! Uh...”  Walker pulled out a ring box from his pocket and handed it to Jean-Luc.  Jean-Luc smirked. “Walker, I’m flattered, but my heart belongs to Beverly.” 

“It’s for Abby.” 

“Yes, I gather.  When were you planning on asking her?” 

“I don’t know.  I thought about tonight, but I forgot about....” He trailed off.  “Nevermind.”   Jean-Luc eyed his best friend.  “Forgot about what?”

“Err...nothing?”

“ _Walker_.” Walker threw up his hands. “Fine.  Bev wanted to throw a small party for you tonight.  But it’s a surprise, so act surprised.”  Jean-Luc groaned. “I hate being the centre of attention.” 

“We know. That’s why we didn’t tell you about the party.  But come on, Johnny.  Fifty is kinda a big deal.”  Jean-Luc shook his head. “Yes, as my son informed me.  It’s halfway to one hundred.”  Walker chuckled. “That’s our boy.”

“Quite.” 

“And hey, you get to do it four whole months before me!”  Jean-Luc rolled his eyes at his friend. “I suppose you expect us to throw you a party?” 

Walker was in the middle of replying when the ship suddenly lurched. “What the devil?”  Jean-Luc turned to his helmsman.

“Sir...we’re being fired on.”

“By who?  We were told by Starfleet this was an unchartered area of the quadrant.” 

“Unknown, Sir.  Should I fire back?”

“Absolutely. Go to yellow alert.” 

The ship rocked with another hit. “Shields down to 70 percent.”  Jean-Luc leaned forward in his seat. “Hail them.”

“No response, Sir.  Shields down to 50 percent.”

“ _Merde.”_

“You can say that again.” Walker sat in the chair next to Jean-Luc and glanced over at his friend, who nodded. “Go to Red Alert.” 

Throughout the ship, the lights flashed to red.  In Sickbay, this meant stabilizing existing patients and preparing for casualties.  Beverly slung a medkit over her shoulder and shoved a tricorder and two hyposprays into the pockets on her lab coat just in case she was required to attend an emergency.  She hoped Wesley wasn’t too scared with the other children.

Abigail Yugen was trying to keep the children in her care calm.  Katie was the youngest at two, and then there was a five-year-old, A six-year-old also named Katie, Wesley, and the ten-year-old twins of the new counsellor.   Fortunately, the loud claxon that accompanied a Red Alert wasn’t going off in the school room, but the lights were flashing and it was scaring the younger children.  Wesley whimpered slightly, but tried to put on a brave face like Malachi and Morris, but his face crumpled when he felt the ship tilt once more. 

“Sir...shields are at fifteen percent.”

“Start evacuation procedures on all non-essential personnel.”  Walker breathed a sigh of relief.  Abigail, along with the children, were considered “Non-essential” and would board a small shuttle pod and be shot out into space for safety.  Once the crisis had passed, the _Stargazer_ would be able to track the pod’s homing beacon to pick up the children and their teacher, safe and sound. 

Jean-Luc pressed the communications panel on his armrest. “Captain Picard to Doctor Picard.”

_“Yes, Jean-Luc?”_

“Beverly, we’re evacuating non-essential personnel.  I think you should go to an escape pod.”

“ _Jean-Luc,  I’m a doctor.  You need me.”_

“I need you to be _safe.”_

“Jean-Luc.... _fine.  Look, we have a few patients to evacuate then I’ll head for the yacht, alright?”_

“If that’s the best you can do.”

 _“It is.  And I’ll swing past the school room and get Wes and Katie. Picard out.”_ Jean-Luc sighed as Beverly ended the connection.

“What’s going on, Johnny?  You wouldn’t usually be so concerned about Beverly.  Unless she....oh my god, she is, isn’t she?”  Jean-Luc grinned at his best friend. “She told me this morning as my birthday present.”  Walker nudged his Captain. “I bet that’s not all she gave you this morning...”  The ship lurched once more and Walker was forced to abandon teasing his best friend. 

“Shields....five percent.” 

“Right.”  Jean-Luc tapped the ship-wide communicator. “This is the Captain speaking.  All hands, abandon ship. I repeat, all hands abandon ship.  Report to your nearest shuttle or pod immediately.  This is not a drill.   I repeat, this is not a drill. All hands abandon ship.”  He turned to his bridge crew. “That includes all of you.”

“But....Sir...we can’t leave you.” 

“Nonsense.  I can easily access the yacht from the bridge.  It’s my responsibility as Captain to ensure my entire crew evacuates.  Go.”

“Yes, Sir.”  The bridge crew began to file out towards their assigned shuttles and Jean-Luc turned to Walker. “You too, Wally.”

“Nuh-uh.  You go.  You’re a father...going to have another one...go, Johnny.”

“Walker....”

“I’ll oversee the evacuation and meet you in the yacht.” Jean-Luc reached over and patted Walker’s arm. “Alright.  But keep me patched in to the comm. I want to know everything!”  Jean-Luc hurried to the hatch where he would gain access into his yacht and he was relieved to find Beverly, Wesley, and Katie already on board.  He kissed Beverly and took Katie from her.  “Abigail and Ann?”

“Abby is with the other children, and Ann should be evacuating with the rest of stellar cartography. Where’s Wally?”

“He insisted on being the last man on the ship. He said I had to think of my family....” 

“Is he listening right now?”  Jean-Luc nodded.  Beverly took a deep breath. “Walker Keel...you better get your ass in this yacht pronto.”

“Just making sure everyone else is off first and all the other shuttles and pods have left.” 

“Alright. We’ll see you soon.”  Beverly held onto Wesley’s hand and led him over to one of the special children’s seats that had been installed in the Captain’s Yacht.  She belted him in before she took Katie back from Jean-Luc and strapped her into a smaller seat.

“Mommy, I forgot Mister Wiggles.”  Beverly frowned.  “We can’t go back, Wes.  We’ll just have to....get a new one.” 

“But Mister Wiggles is my favourite!” 

“I know, baby,  I know.  How about I replicate you a teddy for now?” 

Annisyn was listening in to the conversation as she had just tapped in to  the bridge feed to make sure Katie had been evacuated when she turned around and sprinted towards her quarters.  She could grab the bear for Wes and be back at her escape pod in no time.  She rounded a corner and ran into the five-year-old girl from the school who was crying.  Annisyn bent down to the girl’s height. “Madyson, right?”  The little girl nodded. “Why aren’t you with Miss Abigail and the other children?”

“Got lost.”  The girl let out a sniff.  Annisyn was on the same corridor as an escape pod, so she quickly pushed the child inside the single use pod and belted her in.  She pressed the button to activate the pod and yanked her hand out before the door sealed shut.  They would be able to find the child by using the homing device later. 

She sprinted back to the quarters she shared with her family and ran into Wesley’s room and scooped up the favoured bear before dashing back out.  She ran through smoky corridors looking for an escape pod, but every bay was empty.  She wondered if she could make it to the yacht, since she knew it wouldn’t depart until the very last second and she stumbled her way down the corridors towards the bridge, coughing as she inhaled the black smoke that threatened to drown out her vision.  Barely coherent, she managed to find an escape pod and hurried inside, but she passed out before she had a chance to seal the door.

Walker checked the monitor.  “Alright, Captain.  Abandoning the bridge...now.” Walker ran to the hatch that led to the Yacht and sealed it behind him.  He could hear Jean-Luc recording the last message that would ever be recorded for the _Stargazer_ before he jettisoned the ‘black box’ that would be filled with the logs and account of what happened.  Walker slipped into the co-pilot’s seat.

“Everyone’s off.  All pods jettisoned. Now let’s blow this joint.”

“Right. Set rendezvous coordinates to relay to all shuttles and pods.  Use....use our last location before we entered this system.  We can be there in a few hours with our limited warp capabilities, and it’s a good place to gather the troops and shuffle people around.”

“Got it. Coordinates programmed and sent.”

“Engage.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy, GottaHaveAName? :P

 “Approaching rendezvous coordinates, Captain.” Jean-Luc nodded at Walker, pleased that he was maintaining proper protocol even if they were best friends and he was worried about his girlfriend. 

“Full stop.  We’ll wait here for the rest of our ships to catch up.”  Beverly rose from her seat and went over to Walker.  “Sickbay.  Now.”

“But..”

“No buts. You inhaled a lot of smoke. I just want to check your lungs.”  Walker’s eyes gleamed at his friend. “You don’t have a sickbay.”  Beverly frowned.  It was true.  The shuttles contained no sickbay facilities, just a tiny first aid station.  On the other hand, she had strapped a full medkit to her shoulder before evacuating.  She raised her eyebrows.  “We’ll just have to use the bedroom then.  Come on.” 

Walker wiggled his eyebrows. “First Johnny tries to marry me, now his wife takes me into the bedroom.  I’m having a great day!”  Beverly shot a look at Jean-Luc and he mimed slipping a ring on a finger and her eyes went wide as she realised what Walker had said.  “Hmm.  Move it, mister.”

“Shouldn’t you check Jean-Luc and the children first?”

“Wesley and Katie are fine, just scared.  Jean-Luc didn’t inhale smoke. You did.”   Walker sighed. “I hate doctors.”

“No you don’t. You love me.”  Walker grinned.

“By the way, I hear congratulations are in order? How far along are you?”

“Not far, but I wanted to tell Jean-Luc for his birthday.” Beverly got out her tricorder and began to scan Walker.  “And what’s this about asking my husband to marry you?” 

“I have a ring for Abigail. I was showing it to Johnny...Oh, Bev. I guess we can’t have your party tonight.”  Beverly patted his arm. “Never mind.  Look, I’m going to give you a analgesic for your lungs, they’re a little irritated from the smoke, but other than that, you’re fine.”  She pressed a hypospray to his neck.

“Great. Thanks Bev.”  Beverly arched an eyebrow. “Doctor Bev?”  She sighed.  She hoped they wouldn’t be cramped on the shuttle for too long. 

She went back out into the main area of the shuttle and saw Wesley was squirming in his seat.  She rolled her eyes, but unbuckled both him and Katie.  She looked at her son sternly.  “Wes, I need you to do me a big favour.”  Wesley’s eyes went wide. “Papa and Uncle Wally and I have a lot of work to do to find everyone else and I need you and Katie to go play in the bedroom.” 

“But we don’t have any toys!”

“I’ll replicate you some blocks, alright?” Wesley nodded. “But I need you to look after Katie for me.”

“What if I have to go potty?”  Jean-Luc was behind Beverly and he pushed a small comm badge onto Wesley’s shirt.  “Press this and say Mommy or Papa and we’ll be able to hear you.” 

“It’s a badge like yours Papa!” 

“It is indeed.  But don’t press it unless you absolutely need us, ok?  Mommy or I will come check on you in a little bit.”  Wesley solemnly nodded and reached out for Katie’s hand. “Come on, Katie. Let’s go play.”  Beverly couldn’t help but smile at her son.  He really was going to be a fantastic big brother to the baby.   She went over to the replicator and replicated a simple set of letter blocks.  They were a little young for Wesley, but he could spell words with the letters and it was something Katie could play with, at least until they pooled all their resources and decided what they could afford to replicate.  She replicated a new teddy bear for Wesley and one for Katie too, then followed them into the back bedroom. 

The Yacht had been a surprise for Jean-Luc.  Walker had overseen its design and implementation.  They had taken the larger main bunk area and turned it into a double bedroom for the couple, with smaller rooms on either side for other family members. Beverly glanced around and realised they would have to come up with a cot of some description for Katie to sleep in, as Wesley could have one of the bunk beds in the side room.

Wesley had helped Katie climb onto the large bed and they were sitting on the bed when Beverly tipped out the blocks and handed them the bears. 

“Bear! Bear!” Katie hugged her bear, but Wesley looked at his in disdain. “Mommy, it’s not Mister Wiggles.” 

“I know, baby, I know.  But do me a favour and pretend?”  Beverly was hopeful that Wesley would eventually forget about Mister Wiggles since she was fairly certain there was no Mister Wiggles anymore. 

“Ok.  I’ll pretend for Katie.”  Beverly smiled. “You do that, Wes.  If you need us, tap the badge Papa gave you.”

Back out on the bridge, albeit a small version of a bridge, Jean-Luc and Walker were consulting lists.  He passed a PADD to Beverly. “Until we know Carter is fine, you’re in charge of overseeing medical care.”  Beverly nodded.  “As ships return, I want you to assess the medical needs of the crew.  If we need to, we can beam people here or beam you to them if they need your expertise, but try to talk people through using the medkits first. We all have basic first aid training.”

“So the ship...”

“Gone, as far as we know.  We’ve managed to direct the black box to meet us here so we can take it with us to the nearest Starbase....which is going to take us a few weeks to get to,” Jean-Luc paused and looked at his wife. “Are you going to be ok?  Will the baby...?”  Beverly smiled at her husband. “The  baby is fine.  I can scan myself with my tricorder to check on her,”  Jean-Luc’s eyebrows raised. “Her?”

“When it’s too early to tell or when the parents don’t want to know, we tend to alternate using all pronouns for the baby, including neutral terms like ze.  Personally, I don’t like referring to the baby as an ‘it’ though.” 

“I see.” 

“But anyway, it’s early.  I just wanted to tell you on your birthday, otherwise I would have waited a few more weeks.  But he’s fine. I won’t need a medical facility for a few weeks.”  She leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Now stop worrying about your wife.  I’m fine.”

Jean-Luc chuckled and kissed her forehead. “Never doubted it.” 

“Oi, lovebirds. Knock it off.”   Jean-Luc turned to Walker. “Our first priority is finding anyone vulnerable.  We need the shuttle with the other children located, and the pods from Sickbay.  Doctor Picard, how many people did you need to evacuate?”

“Only three pods were used. Two people in one, and one alone in the third.”

“Critical?”

“No.  Ensign Leuta has a broken leg, Lieutenant Moya was complaining of fatigue, and Yeoman Marsh had his foot caught in a turbolift door.”  Jean-Luc raised his eyebrows. “Don’t ask.  We just couldn’t fit all three of them in one pod, so Marsh is on his own.” 

“Number One, what about the other civilians?  I know we had a few spouses on board...”

“Evacuated to shuttlecraft four with Wu.” 

“Excellent.”  Walker fiddled some more  with his console. “I have fourteen of fifteen pods on recall.” 

“Where’s the fifteenth?” 

“I don’t know.  I was sure I set to jettison all escape pods before I evacuated.  I guess it’s possible if it was empty it jammed in the bay.”  Jean-Luc frowned and stroked the back of his neck. “Well, let’s hope it was empty, Number One. Are we positive everyone got off the ship?” 

“I made one last announcement with all channels open and no one responded.  Either they were all off or dead.”  Another frown. Jean-Luc hated to lose anyone.  “And the ship that attacked us?” 

“We got in a few good blows.  It was crashing into the atmosphere of one of the moons as the last people were evacuating.” 

“I don’t like knowing we destroyed someone, but at least we know they aren’t able to pursue us.”

Walker nodded and glanced at the screen. “Shuttlecrafts two and four arriving.”

“Contact them.  Find out who is on board and make a list.  Ask if they need medical attention. You said Wu was on four?”  Walker nodded.  “Good. If there’s another officer with her, have her beamed to the yacht.  We’re going to need her to help coordinate everything. I’m going to try to contact Starfleet.”

Jean-Luc began by using the emergency frequency.  “Attention Starfleet. This is Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the starship _Stargazer_. We have been attacked and destroyed by an unknown enemy.  We escaped and are attempting to rendezvous with the shuttles and pods at the coordinates I am about to transmit.  Casualties unknown at this time.  Please advise for a pick up or our nearest Starbase.”

Jean-Luc sat back and sent the same message to Admiral Quinn, and Starbase 32, the last base they had stopped at.  No doubt someone would receive the message.  The question was, how long would it take?

Beverly went into the bedroom to check on the children and she paused in the doorway.  Katie and Wesley were both sound asleep on the bed, each clutching one of the teddy bears.  She carefully picked up the blocks from the bed and lifted one edge of the covers to tuck them in.  Might as well let them nap now while they could.  They’d work out the logistics of sleeping arrangements once they knew how many people would be staying on the yacht. 

_“Shuttlecraft three here.”_

“Abigail!  Sorry, Lieutenant Yugen.  Is everyone in your shuttle alright?  Does anyone require immediate medical attention?”

_“No.  We’re all fine.  A few bumps, but it’s nothing we can’t take care of on our own.”_

“Just checking people off on our list.  Other than the children, who is on the shuttle with you?”

_“Ensigns Morris, Schubert, and Mellow;  Yeomans Callow and Anders, and Lieutenant JG Albert.  But...uh...we’re missing a child.”_

“Wesley and Katie are here with us.”

_“No, Walker. Madyson is missing.  We thought we had her, but then she was gone by the time we closed the shuttle and left.”_

“Shit.”

_“Yeah.”_

“Right, well, we have the twin’s mother on shuttle two, so you can send them to her and Katie’s mother is on shuttle four.  Then get yourself here. Hopefully we’ll find Madyson on one of the other shuttles before we locate her father.  Leave shuttle three in Albert’s command.”

_“Aye, Commander.”_

###

“Commander Wu, I want you to take shuttlecraft three with Albert and pick up some of the pods.  All pods should have turned on their beacons and should be headed here, but I’m concerned if anyone needs medical attention.  Once you’ve filled your shuttle, bring it back and we’ll shuffle people around again to get another free shuttle.  We _should_ have enough room for everyone in the shuttles without needing to hang onto any of the pods.” 

“Aye, Sir.”

Jean-Luc looked over to Walker, where he was adding the batch of people off Shuttlecraft six. “Ann?”  Walker shook his head.  Jean-Luc grimaced.  Annisyn should have been on Shuttlecraft five with the rest of Stellar Cartography, but no one had seen the young woman once the Red Alert claxon had started.  Beverly reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze.  “Don’t worry, we still have a few more shuttles to locate, and the pods.  I’m sure we’ll find her soon.” 

Jean-Luc kissed the top of her head. “I hope so.  In the meantime, I suppose we’re lucky Katie is used to us being her parents.  We might have to look after her for a while.”  Beverly nodded.  “Katie and Wes are sleeping on the big bed again.  Why don’t you go lay down with them?”

“ _Beverly_ , I can’t.”

“ _Jean-Luc_.  You haven’t slept in over twenty-four hours.  You’ve sent Walker and Liz to get sleep.  Do I need to pull rank?”  Jean-Luc grinned and leaned over and kissed her. “Will the good Doctor be following her own advice?”  Beverly pursed her lips.  “I suppose...” 

“Number One, you’re in charge.  My doctor has mandated I get some rest.” 

“Aye, Captain.  See you in six hours.” 

Jean-Luc let out a chuckle when he walked into the bedroom that was supposed to be for his and Beverly’s use.  Wesley was sprawled across the pillows at the head of the bed, and Katie was sleeping in the middle of the bed.  Jean-Luc gently picked up Wesley and moved him so he could use a pillow and took off his boots.  During a crisis, he would sleep in his uniform so he could hop out of bed at short notice.  He removed his comm badge and pips though, as he didn’t want to hurt either of the children if they rolled into him in his sleep. 

Beverly came in to ask Jean-Luc a question not five minutes later and she grinned. Wesley and Katie had both managed to work themselves against Jean-Luc on either side of him.  Beverly removed her lab coat, shoes, and comm badge before she got on the bed on the other side of Katie.  As if Katie knew she was there, the toddler rolled over and cuddled into Beverly.  Beverly stroked Katie’s hair and shed a few tears. “Oh, baby girl.  I hope we find your momma soon.”

###

Jean-Luc and Beverly were out on the small bridge, Beverly bandaging a cut for one of the Lieutenants and Jean-Luc attempting to contact Starfleet once more when they heard the piercing scream come from the bedroom.  They both dropped what they were doing and ran back to the bedroom where Wesley was sitting up in bed screaming.  Nearby, Katie started to cry and Beverly absently picked up the two-year-old on her way to Wesley. “Papa....I saw flames.”  Jean-Luc exchanged a look with Beverly over the top of his head.  “Wesley...it was only a dream.” 

“The ship was on fire and there was a lot of smoke!”  Beverly frowned.  She thought Abigail and the children had evacuated before the ship caught on fire.  Jean-Luc sat on the bed and Wesley crawled into his lap.  “I didn’t know where you were, Papa.” 

“Shh, it’s alright son, I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.  Mommy is here too and so is Katie.”  Wesley sniffed. “Where’s Annie?” 

“I....I don’t know yet, Wes.  We haven’t picked up all the escape pods yet.” 

“Did Annie die?”  Jean-Luc once again exchanged a look with Beverly.  “We....hope not.  But we don’t know.  I’m sorry, Wes.” 

“What about Katie?” 

“What about her, Sweetheart? She’s right here.”  Beverly moved towards the bed with Katie in her arms.  “Mommy, are you going to be Katie’s mommy if Annie is dead like Papa became my papa?”

“Momma?”  Beverly smoothed down Katie’s hair. “Sorry, Katie, you’ll have to do with Maw maw right now.” 

“Maw maw!”  Katie smiled.  Beverly turned back to Wesley. “Would that be ok, Wes?” 

“Yeah, I guess so.  But I hope the baby is a boy.” 

“Why’s that?”

“Cos I already have three sisters.”  Jean-Luc chuckled.  “Well, we won’t know for quite a while.” 

“ _Bridge to Captain Picard.”_   Jean-Luc tapped his badge. “Go ahead, Walker.”

“ _We’ve located a shuttle pod with the child, Madyson on board by herself_.” 

“Excellent.  I’ll be right out.”  Jean-Luc turned back to Wesley. “Wes, Mommy and I have to go do our jobs some more, do you want me to ask Abby to come sit with you until you fall back asleep?” 

“Uh-huh.”  Jean-Luc kissed the boy’s forehead and took Katie from Beverly and laid her back on the bed next to Wesley. “Give me a minute.”  Jean-Luc walked the few feet out into the bridge.  “Lieutenant Yugen,  can you do me a favour?  Wesley’s had a nightmare. Can you sit with him until he falls asleep? “  Abigail grinned.  “Of course, Sir.  I feel a bit useless right now anyway.” 

“Number One, beam Madyson here so Beverly can examine her and please do your best to locate her father’s escape pod?  In the meantime, we’ll have to find someone to look after her.” 

“Right away, Captain.  Doctor, where should I send her to?” 

“Actually...hold that thought.  Jean-Luc,  it might be better if Abigail is out here since Madyson knows her better than anyone else.”  Jean-Luc frowned. “But then, who can stay with Wes?” 

“I can for a little while.  Wu can take over for me.”  Jean-Luc nodded at Walker. “Thanks.  Tell Abigail to wait over at the transporter platform for Madyson.  Then, she can stay with her while Beverly examines her.” 

Madyson was fine,  just a little scared.  She kept telling Beverly and Abigail that Katie’s mommy had rescued her, which made them both smile as Madyson and the older Katie were best friends. They didn’t doubt _someone_ had helped Madyson, but if it had been Lieutenant Barnes, she would have told them she had placed the child in an escape pod.  No, the more likely story was that in the smoke and haze Madyson had only seen a blue uniform with two pips similar to what Barnes wore.  Whoever it had been, Madyson’s father owed them a great deal as the child had explained she got separated from Abigail and the other children and didn’t know where she was when she had been found.  They put Madyson in one of the smaller bunks temporarily until her father could be located.

###

Annisyn slowly regained consciousness and let out a hacking cough.  She was clutching Wesley’s teddy bear and hadn’t been strapped in when her pod was jettisoned so she was battered and bruised from being flung around the pod.  She got herself into the seat and strapped herself in, while going over evacuation procedure in her head.  _Strap in, hit jettison button, wait for rendezvous coordinates.  If no coordinates are received....I....I can’t remember._ She sighed and glanced at her communications panel, but it remained dark.  She tapped a button.  “Picard to.... _Stargazer_... or anyone?  Is anyone receiving my message?”  She was met with dead silence.  She let out another cough, this one bringing up black coloured phlegm from the smoke.  She fumbled for the basic medkit she knew was on board.  She gave herself a shot of something, having no clue what it was, but her lungs felt clearer.  She passed out again before she had time to activate her homing beacon.


	3. Chapter 3

Jean-Luc sighed in frustration and banged his fist against the front console.  “Damnit!” 

“Still no response from Starfleet?”  Jean-Luc shook his head at his second officer.  “Nothing.  Get someone from engineering to look at the communications relay and  try sending my message from another shuttle.  Where are we with recovering the remaining pods and shuttles?”

“Two shuttles still haven’t met us, and we’re trying to locate seven of the pods.”

“And my daughter?”  Wu looked at her feet. “I’m sorry, Sir.  We haven’t found her yet.” 

Jean-Luc sighed. “Thank you, Commander.   Please put together a small team and take one of the shuttles to the last known coordinates of the other two shuttles.  They might need rescuing.” 

Wu’s eyes went wide. “Me, Sir?  Shouldn’t you send Commander Keel?” 

“And risk my wife’s wrath by taking away one of the adults the children are comfortable around?”  Jean-Luc chuckled.  “No, Commander.  I’m sending you.” 

“Aye, Sir.”

Beverly, Jean-Luc, Walker, and Abigail had been taking shifts looking after the children along with Abigail’s assistant teacher, Ensign Ruben.  Liz Ruben had spend most of her time with Katie as Katie was too young for most of the school activities, and Wesley liked her, too. Abigail was also trying to still lead some semblance of school for the other children by conference call.  Jean-Luc had thought about devoting some space to Abigail for school, but hadn’t yet.  But if they didn’t hear from Starfleet soon....he didn’t really want to think about it.  Not all of their shuttles had high warp capability and at the highest speed they could maintain, it would take weeks, possibly months to reach a Starbase.  Not to mention, they still hadn’t recovered all the shuttles and pods and still didn’t have a clear idea of who was missing/presumed dead....including the young woman Jean-Luc called his daughter.

###

Jean-Luc eyed his senior staff around the large table in the Yacht.  In addition to his first and second officers,  Beverly was acting CMO and Lieutenant Shir was acting Chief of Security.  They still hadn’t located his chief engineer, or any of their immediate subordinates, so Jean-Luc had had to temporarily appoint Ensign Middle to the position.  Middle was a small woman with large amber eyes that always seemed to look frightened behind the thick glasses her species required off their homeworld. 

“Ensign Middle, I know this is hard for you.  With the Chief missing as well as several other senior Engineering crew members, it falls to you as the most senior Ensign to assume command of your department.  I am giving you a field promotion to Lieutenant Junior Grade for now.”

“Th...thank you, Sir.”

“Don’t thank me.  You and what remains of Engineering have a lot of work ahead of you, including figuring out why we can’t seem to raise Starfleet.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Commander Wu, how far are we from the nearest starbase if we have to travel under our own power?”

“Our slowest shuttle can only travel at warp 2, and the escape pods can’t even handle warp 1.  If we have to take any of the escape pods with us, it would take us over six months to reach Starbase thirty-two at impulse,”  Jean-Luc shot a look at his pregnant wife, suddenly fearful for her pregnancy.  She shook her head and indicated they would talk later.  Wu continued, “If we ditch all the pods, we can travel at Warp 2 and reach the  base in three months.”

“Would it be possible to get rid of the slowest shuttle?  Can we make room on the other shuttles for the personnel?”  Wu nodded. “Probably.  If we can recover the missing two shuttles, we should be able to shuffle people around and then we’d be limited to Warp four.”

“And at Warp four?”

“We would reach Starbase thirty-two in six weeks.”  Jean-Luc nodded.  “A much preferred option to any of the others,” Jean-Luc turned to his wife. “Doctor,  as Doctor Greyhorse is still missing, you are acting CMO. What can you tell me about the injuries?” 

“Nothing life-threatening so far.  Mostly a lot of reports of bumps and bruises.  A few broken bones and many cases of smoke inhalation.  I’ve been able to coordinate with the nurses and haven’t needed to move any of the patients from their current locations, though if we have to travel on our own I would prefer to put them all together where the nurses can look after them easier.  They’re being run ragged beaming between the shuttles, but we thought it was best if they handled initial triage and treatment rather than sending for me for minor injuries.”  Jean-Luc raised his eyebrows. “Yes, the nurses are aware of my...condition.” 

Wu looked up.  “Condition, Doctor? Are you alright?  Is it an emergency?  Do we need to send you ahead of the rest of the shuttles to the base?”  Beverly shook her head and chuckled at the other woman.  “No, Liz.  I’m pregnant.”  Wu’s eyes went wide. “Congratulations, Doctor, Sir.”

“Thank you, Commander.  Yes, my wife is pregnant, but she tells me she is fine and not in need of a medical facility. However, should that situation change or anyone require immediate attention,  we will use this ship to travel at our maximum speed to get to the base before the rest of the shuttles.”  Wu nodded.

“Lieutenant Shir, any security needs?”  The tall Vulcan shook his head. “No Sir.  Everything appears to be in order.  We haven’t needed to settle any disagreements yet. Though I daresay the longer we are here in tight quarters, the more likely it will be.  I suggest we get underway as soon as possible.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant.  Commander Wu, have you put together your crew for the rescue mission for our two missing shuttles?” 

“Yes, Sir.  With the Doctor’s permission, I’d like to take one of her nurses along in case anyone requires medical care beyond our capability.”

“Hmm. Take Cadet Broll with you.  He’s doing his internship with us for Starfleet Medical. Nothing like field medicine for experience.”

“Yes, Doctor.”

“Commander Keel, how has creating a list of all missing crew going?”

“See for yourself, Captain.”  Walker passed Jean-Luc a PADD and his eyes went wide. “Wal...there are over sixty names on this list.”  Walker nodded. “Sixty-three missing, four confirmed deaths.”

“Confirmed?”

“People saw them die on the _Stargazer_.”  Jean-Luc frowned.  “How many people could the remaining shuttles and pods hold?”

“It would be cramped if they tried to fit more than fifteen in each shuttle.  The pods....it depends. Most are singles, but some could accommodate as many as three.”

“And of the missing pods?”

“Four could be used for three, the rest are singles.” Jean-Luc audibly sighed.

“So we’re looking at being able to rescue, at the most, forty-five people?  Out of sixty-three?” Walker sadly shook his head.  “I’m sorry, Johnny.” 

“Well, we’ll just have to make sure we rescue as many people as we can.  Wu, I want you to head out immediately with your team.  Take someone from engineering along. It would be a help if those shuttles could be repaired.  After you find the shuttles, continue to search for the pods. Stay in touch as best as possible. I will expect you to return within five days.” Wu nodded and stood to put her away team together.  Jean-Luc ran his finger down the PADD and his finger stopped on the one name he hated seeing on the list.   Lieutenant Ann Picard. 

###

Annisyn woke with a start, forgetting for a minute where she was.  “What....where...?”  Then it all came crashing back.  She was in an escape pod.  Alone except for Wesley’s teddy bear.  She tried her communications panel again, but it remained dead. “Come on, Annie. You know a little bit of engineering.  You can make it work.”

 She struggled out of her chair and knelt under the panel to look at the connectors.  It _would_ be too easy if the only problem was an unplugged cable, but she had to look.  She sighed.  It looked like a melted glob of cables, likely damaged in the fire on the _Stargazer._ She wondered if she could rig something together...there had to be spare wires around somewhere.  She checked the chronometer and tried not to panic, lest she start running out of precious Oxygen.  She had been unconscious for four days.  She tentatively felt the bump on her head. “Ouch!”  She ran her fingers through her tangled hair and they came away with dried flecks of blood on them. “Must have bumped my head.”

 Annisyn’s stomach rumbled. “Hmm. I wonder how many MREs are in here?”  She reached for the locker she knew would contain supplies and found three flasks of water, twelve energy bars, and seven no-heat-needed meal bags.  She shuddered.  Those things were nasty, but she needed to eat something.  She took a swig of water and swished it around in her mouth, vowing to never make fun of her father’s Earl Grey tea addiction again.... _if_ she ever saw the man she called Papa again.  She eyed her meal options.  She wasn’t sure if she could save part of the meals for later, but she could cut the energy bars in half.  She reached for the first packet and grimaced.  ‘Beef stew’.   The packs were pretty ingenious, they were double walled, with the inner part being capable of heating up as soon as it was exposed to air.  Then, it would only take 60 seconds for her food to be hot.  She rummaged in the locker to find a fork.  “ _Bon Apetit_.” 

###

Beverly Picard was frustrated.  They had been stuck on the shuttle waiting for news for the past five days and she had yet to catch her husband privately.  The main bedroom of the yacht had been taken over by the children, mostly because with all the movements going on in the main areas, it just wasn’t safe for them to be underfoot.  And if they weren’t with their children, then they were on the bridge or in the lounge, which had become more of a conference room than a lounge.  Beverly sighed.  The yacht had been Walker’s idea.  He thought the couple could use it to go on shore leave together or even to take Wesley with them, which they had done a few times.  Jean-Luc was determined that he and Beverly would spend time alone as a couple, and as a family, away from the ship and Starfleet, and Beverly was grateful for his determination.  But now....they didn’t even get to sleep alone.  If they got to sleep at the same time there always was a child between them in the bed or more often, they were sleeping at different times. 

Beverly patted her flat stomach. “And you.  What am I going to do if you start to make my uniform too tight? It’s not as if we have unlimited replicator resources. Not that I regret you....oh, far from it.  You are probably one of the most wanted babies in the quadrant.  Your papa and I have been trying for almost three years to create you, and I won’t let anything harm you.  I promise.”  Jean-Lu came up behind his wife and wrapped his arms around her. “Talking to the baby?” 

“Yes.” 

“Do they answer back?”  He gently kissed her neck and she turned in his arms.  “Do you remember when I was pregnant with Wes?  In the later months if we talked to him, he would move around? “  Jean-Luc nodded.  He had been fascinated by the baby being able to respond to his mother’s and his voice.  “I think that’s why Wes was so attached to you from the beginning.  You talked to him.”  Jean-Luc grinned and got down on his knees in front of her and placed his lips to her stomach.  “Hey there, little one.  It’s your Papa.  You keep growing and I promise to take good care of you and your Maman.”  Beverly smiled. 

“I know you will.  But....”

“But what, my love?”

“If we have to travel slowly, I’m going to start to show.  We have limited resources for the replicator and I doubt I would be able to replicate a full maternity uniform.” 

Jean-Luc frowned. “How long?”

Beverly shrugged. “With Wes? I didn’t show until I was nearly four months pregnant.  But with a second child....since my body now knows what to do, it could happen sooner.” 

“How far along are we?” 

“Only eight weeks.  It really was too soon to start telling people, but with everything going on...”  Jean-Luc kissed the top of her head. “We needed people to be informed.”  She nodded and her voice dropped to a whisper.  “We have another problem.”

“Are you alright?  Are the children alright?”

“They are but...this pregnancy....I’m....really horny.”  Jean-Luc’s eyes went wide.  “I see.  And....I suppose we don’t really have the ability to...do anything about it.”  She shook her head.

“We’re alone now, though.”

“We’re in my tiny infirmery.” 

“So?  We can seal the door....”  He reached for the zipper on her jumpsuit.  “You know, I really _hate_ these jumpsuits.  It makes it difficult to seduce my wife.”  Beverly laughed as he kissed her lips and pushed her uniform off her arms and down her hips.  He deftly removed her bra and leaned down to take one of her nipples in his mouth.  Beverly gave a low moan and then giggled. “Suppose I need to try to be quiet.” 

“Mmm.  I don’t like it when you’re quiet. I like it when I make you scream.”  Beverly tugged his zipper down and pushed his uniform and his shorts down to his knees.  “Me too, but we can’t let anyone hear us!”  Beverly turned around and placed her palms against the biobed that took up most of the small space, leaning over.  “You want it this way?” 

She nodded. “It’s deeper this way.”  Jean-Luc grinned and carefully slid inside.  Beverly bit her lip, but she still managed to moan as she moved against him.  Jean-Luc reached in front and tweaked Beverly’s nipples one by one before lowering his hand down her body.  Beverly took his hand in hers and thrust his fingers inside her, gasping at the contact.  Jean-Luc whispered in her ear, “I’m going to come,” before biting down on her shoulder to muffle his cry. Beverly stuffed her fist in her mouth as her orgasm poured over her.  Jean-Luc took a deep breath and rested his head against her shoulder.  “Wow. We needed that.”  Beverly slowly nodded, a grin spreading across her face.  She allowed Jean-Luc to withdraw before she turned around and devoured his lips in a kiss.  “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” 

They quickly cleaned themselves up and Jean-Luc apologized for the bite mark he left on her shoulder.  Beverly merely passed him the dermal regenerator and he carefully ran it over the mark.  Beverly’s hair was dishevelled and her lips were swollen when they exited the small infirmary.  If anyone noticed, they pretended not to. 

###

Walker found Abigail in the bedroom with the children, supervising Wesley reading and Katie ‘drawing’.  He kissed the palm of her hand. “Hey there. How’s it going?”

“I think Wes is getting a little bored to be honest.  From talking with the other parents, the children need to run.”

“The cargo bays?”  Abigail shook her head. “Most of the cargo bays have been converted into additional crew quarters.”

“What about here?  We haven’t needed to convert our cargo bay yet.  Johnny wanted to wait and use it as the mobile sickbay so anyone ill would be on the fastest ship. Why don’t you have the children beamed over later today and you can let them run around?”

“Great idea. Do you think we could replicate a ball?”  Walker nodded. “Resources may be limited, but I think we can.”  Abigail leaned up and kissed Walker, placing her hands on his hips and pulling him close.  Walker glanced over at Wesley, but he was occupied with his book and hadn’t noticed.  Abigail rain her hands down Walker’s hips and felt the square bulge in his pocket.  “What’s this?”

“Ahhh...”

“ _Walker_.” 

“You really want to know....now?”  Walker frowned. He was hoping for a more romantic location than the bedroom on the yacht with Wesley and Katie watching.  Abigail nodded. “Just tell me.”

Walker took a deep breath. “Well, Okay...”  He got down on his knee and Abigail covered her mouth in shock as he took the ring box out of his pocket. “Abigail Yugen, will you marry me?”  Abigail could only nod as Walker stood to place the ring on her finger before he kissed her deeply.

This, Wesley noticed. “Yuck!”  Walker chuckled against Abigail’s lips.  “You keep saying that, buddy, but some day...”

“Nuh-uh. Girls are icky.” 

“What about your Mommy, Abby, Annie, and Katie?”  Wesley scrunched up his face. “They’re alright, I guess. And Tante Marie and Aunt Sooz.” 

“You know, Wes, you don’t have to kiss girls.  You could kiss boys.”  Wesley shook his head. “No, I don’t want to kiss boys neither.”  Abigail merely rolled her eyes.  “I want to go tell Bev! Stay here with the kids?”  Walker nodded. 

Abigail found Beverly smoothing down her uniform in the infirmary.  Abigail grinned. “Your hair is a mess and your lipstick is smudged.  Did you and Jean-Luc..” 

“Yep.  On the biobed...well, more accurately... _against_ the biobed.” 

“Hmm. Think Walker and I could borrow the infirmary tonight?” Beverly eyed her friend. “Why?”

“Well....we might have...cause to celebrate...” Abigail held out her hand and Beverly shrieked before hugging her friend. “Oh Abby!  Congratulations! I’m so happy for you...but are you _sure_ you want to marry Wally?  I mean...it _is_ Wally....”  Abigail laughed at her friend.  “I’m sure.” 

“You know, there’s a few bottles of wine under the bed leftover from our last trip to Earth.  You and Wally should have one to celebrate,”  Beverly scrunched up her face in thought.  “And you can have your privacy tonight.  Take the small bedroom off the side of the main bedroom.  I’m afraid it’s a single bunk, but.....”

“We’ll get creative.” 


	4. Chapter 4

Annisyn had been travelling, lost, for seven days.  She still hadn’t been able to get the communications system working, but at least she had been able to access starmaps. It looked like, if she could trust her computer, that her nearest starbase was 32, and according to the computer, it would take her six months to reach it.  Of course, she would run out of supplies well before then, but if she pointed her pod towards the base, hopefully she might get picked up by a passing ship, or even found by the crew of the _Stargazer._

She found the landing kit and pawed through it to see if it had anything useful in it.  The landing kit was in case you crash landed and had to wait to be rescued, so it mostly contained items more suitable for use on land.  The tent was useless, but she could use the blanket.   She found a few palm lights, which meant she could dim the lights to conserve the Pod’s energy.  The kit contained more MREs (she made a face, but she only had four left of the original seven), a smaller first aid kit, and a water reclamation unit -  or in other words, it would filter any liquid, including urine, and make it drinkable.  She made another face at the thought of having to drink her own urine for survival, but the bottles of water weren’t going to last forever.  She had already emptied one of the bottles, and she decided she would try to collect her urine in it using a funnel to filter later.

She stripped off her jacket and fingered her lieutenant insignia.  Would she forever be remembered as Lieutenant Ann Picard?  Would there be a memorial for her placed next to Jack Crusher’s?  Would Jean-Luc be handed the UFP flag along with a “We’re sorry for your loss, Sir”?  She sighed and balled up her jacket to use for a pillow, and she accidentally nudged her communicator badge.  It made a tiny chirping sound. “Uh...Hello?  This is Anni...Annie Picard....Can anyone hear me?” 

Silence.  But if her badge still worked, maybe she could somehow patch it into the communications system and fix it...but who was she kidding ? She was a scientist in Stellar Cartography, not Engineering.  She only had the most basic of engineering skills.  But it would be worth a try...tomorrow.  Or whenever it was when she woke up.  She had the pod’s computer keep track of time for her, but she didn’t bother to tell it when to wake her, figuring she’d wake when she was ready. 

She clutched Wesley’s teddy  bear to her chest, suddenly glad for it’s companionship, even if it couldn’t talk back.  The bear made her think of her family, and she wondered if they were ok.  She suddenly realised with a jolt that seven days had gone by and she had thought about her father, Beverly, and Wesley, but she hadn’t given a thought to her own daughter.  She frowned.  Shouldn’t she be worried about her welfare?  On the other hand....she knew Beverly and Papa would take care of Katie as if she was their own daughter, and really...she probably should be.  If anything happened to her, she supposed they would become Katie’s guardians anyway. 

###

“Ann?”

“I’m sorry, Sir.  Lieutenant Picard wasn’t in either shuttle or the four pods we picked up and towed back here.”  Wu looked at her shoes, not wanting to look up and see the anguish in her Captain’s eyes . She didn’t want to be the one to suggest that perhaps Ann Picard hadn’t made it off the ship and had perished before the evacuation started, but someone was going to have to.  She cleared her throat. “Sir?  Have you thought about the possibility that Lieutenant Picard...that she might have perished in the fire before the call for evacuation?”

“Yes.”  The word came out broken on a whisper.  “Thank you, Commander.  You are dismissed.  Please help Commander Keel...on second thought, please relieve the Commander and have him come see me. I’ll be in the infirmary.” 

“Sir? Are you alright?”

“Physically, yes.”  Wu nodded, tight lipped.  She understood.  Well, she didn’t since she didn’t have any children or a spouse, but she could imagine what it must be like to lose your child, and so soon after losing his best friend, too.  Wu stood there, uncertain of what to do. Jean-Luc let out a sigh. “You are dismissed,” he waved his hand at her and she shuffled off to relieve Commander Keel. 

Jean-Luc sighed and walked to the small infirmary room where Beverly had been pooling all the supplies from the ships and pods to distribute everything evenly while making sure she had enough supplies on the yacht.  Greyhorse was still missing, and at this point, Beverly was fairly certain anyone still missing was likely dead.  There were three escape pods unaccounted for, but if they weren’t found soon, whoever was in them would run out of supplies.  Beverly looked up with a smile on her face, which turned to a frown when she saw Jean-Luc’s face.

“Ann?”  He shook his head. “Not on the shuttles or pods.  Wu thinks...”  he swallowed, “Wu thinks she might have perished in the fire.”  A tear slipped from the corner of his eye and Beverly drew him into her arms as her tears joined his. After a few minutes Beverly looked up at him. “Katie?” 

“Well...as long as it’s alright with you,  I suppose we will adopt her and raise her as our own.  I....I know it’s a lot to ask of you, especially with the baby on the way,  and knowing who Katie’s father is, but....”

“You love Katie.”

“I do.” 

“I love her too.  She’s Ann’s daughter and Wesley’s sister, of course we will raise her.”  Jean-Luc gave her a chaste kiss. “Thank you.”

“For?”

“Not taking Katie away from me.  Ann might have only been in our lives for a few years, but...she was my daughter.  And I’m,”  Jean-Luc’s voice hitched again, “I’m going to miss her.” 

Walker approached the small infirmary and could hear a few sniffles from behind the door.  He sighed and knocked softly “Guys, it’s me. Can I come in?” 

The door opened and Walker slipped into the  cramped space.  He took in Beverly’s red-rimmed eyes and Jean-Luc’s tear stained cheeks and Beverly drew him into a three-way embrace.  “Commander Wu told me.”  Jean-Luc broke away and straightened his uniform. “Yes, well...it’s not confirmed yet.  We still have two pods to locate.” 

“ _Jean-Luc.”_

 _“Walker,”_ Jean-Luc used the same tone.  Walker sighed.  “Don’t you think we....we’ve looked long enough?  Would we continue to look if it wasn’t our Ann still on the missing list?” 

Jean-Luc pondered his old friend’s words. “Perhaps you’re right, Walker,” he sighed. “You and Wu work out who will be travelling in which shuttle.  Try to get rid of the slow one.  Beverly wants anyone who is ill or injured transferred to the Yacht.  Make sure the remaining shuttles have at least one senior officer, one medic or nurse, and one engineer.  Figure out what positions we need to temporarily fill and see how our new Chief is doing with fixing the communications array?  I’d like to be able to tell the base we’re on the way so they can send a ship to meet us.”

Walker gave Beverly’s hand a squeeze before he gave his friend a mock salute. “Yes, Sir.  Why don’t you and Beverly go spend some time with the children?  I can handle things out here and it’s not like you’re very far away if I need you.”  Jean-Luc nodded and clapped Walker on the back. “Thanks Wal. You’re a good friend.”

###

Beverly sat on the bed  with Wesley in her lap, and Katie had crawled into Jean-Luc’s.  Jean-Luc looked at Beverly over their heads and she nodded.  Katie wouldn’t understand anything, and would probably carry on calling them Pup pup and Maw maw until she was older.  But Wesley already had had to deal with Jack’s accident and death, and at almost eight he was getting quite wise for his age.  Jean-Luc took a deep breath. 

“We need to tell you something about Annie.” 

“Did she die?”  Jean-Luc nodded. “Probably.  We don’t actually know.  She’s what we call ‘Missing, presumed dead’.” 

“Oh.  So she might not be dead?” 

“That’s right, Wes.  Starfleet won’t declare her dead until seven years have passed from her going missing, unless someone was witness to her death who can testify that she’s dead.”  Wesley gave his father a puzzled look.  “I don’t.....I don’t understand.”  Jean-Luc grinned.  Wesley was so smart,  he sometimes forgot he was still a little boy. 

“Annie is missing right now.  If we don’t find her in seven years,  we will assume she died.” 

“Oh.  Will Katie still live with us?”  Jean-Luc cuddled the little girl closer.  “Yes.  Are you alright with that?” 

“Uh-huh. But I told you the new baby better be a boy.”  Beverly shook her head and Jean-Luc merely smiled at his son.  “Wes, we don’t get to pick, but maybe if you wish real hard, it will be a boy.” 

“But Papa, don’t you want a boy?” 

“Wesley, I just want Mommy to have a healthy pregnancy, and give birth to a healthy baby.”

“Ok , but I’m still gonna wish.”  Wesley scrunched up his face and they could hear him mutter “Pleseletitbeaboy. Pleaseletitbeaboy.”

“You know, he’s going to be _really_ disappointed when we tell him we’re having a girl.”  A wide grin broke out on Jean-Luc’s face. “We are?  But I thought it was too early to tell?”

She nodded. “It is, but I just have this _feeling_.  You remember,  I told you and Jack I knew Wesley was a boy before the tests confirmed it.”  Jean-Luc laughed. “Are you sure you’re not part Betaziod or another telepathic species?” 

“Reasonably sure,” She grinned. “Guess it’s just mother’s intuition. “ Her smile faded. “Look at me. I’m laughing and making jokes about the baby when we might have just lost Ann....”  She wiped at her eye.  “And I didn’t want to cry in front of the children.”  Jean-Luc reached over and tenderly wiped away her tears. “It’s ok, my love.   Cry if you want to.”  Wesley turned in his mother’s lap and wrapped his arms around her neck. “Mommy, I love you.”

“Love you too, kid.  What were you doing with Abby earlier?”

“Reading.” 

“Anything good?”

“It’s kinda boring reading on a PADD.  I miss my books . Mommy, when can I have my books back?”  Beverly frowned and looked at Jean-Luc.  Wesley had understood the concept of the ship being destroyed, but hadn’t quite grasped the idea that his belongings were gone forever. 

“Wes...we’ll have to get you some new books when we get to the base, alright?”

“I guess so.”  Wesley picked up the PADD he was reading on and held it out to his mother. “Can I read to you?”  Beverly smiled. “Sure.” 

Jean-Luc smiled. He loved having his family together, even if they were missing a member and were stuck on a small ship for weeks on end. He vowed that no matter how long it took to return to a base, he would always make room for time with his family.  His thoughts were disturbed by a squirming two-year-old.

“Pup pup, Hungry.”

“Hmm. I suppose it’s getting close to dinner time and bed time for you.”  He dropped a kiss on Katie’s head. 

“Eat?”

“Come on, baby girl, let’s get you fed.” 

An hour later, Jean-Luc was watching Katie’s eyes flutter shut on the bottom bunk.  Lieutenant Middle had taken parts from the bunks on the shuttle they were abandoning and created railing for the beds of some of the younger children to keep them from rolling out of the bed, and Jean-Luc was grateful, as it meant Katie no longer had to sleep in the larger bed between the adults.  Not like he and Beverly really had any privacy, but it was nice to be able to catch a few hours of sleep together.

Tears rolled down his cheeks as he watched the precious babe sleep. Of course, he would take care of Katie and raise her as if he was his own, but what he really wanted was for Ann to be alright.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tissue warning....

Beverly surveyed the make shift decorations they had put up in the conference room and the table where a small replicated birthday cake sat.  She hoped Wesley liked it.  They had promised him a party in the ship’s gymnasium, but obviously, that was fairly impossible. Instead, the children were all being beamed over to the yacht for some cake, and then they were going to play football in the cargo bay with a few nets they had rigged up using some mosquito netting from the landing kits. She sighed.  It would just have to do.

Wesley was riding on his father’s shoulders and giggling as Jean-Luc would purposefully pretend to almost walk into doors.  Katie was tugging on Jean-Luc’s hand. “Pup pup, next?” 

“Hmm, I suppose...Wesley, your friends will be here soon. How about I take you into the conference room and then it will be Katie’s turn to ride my shoulders?” 

“Umm...ok.” 

The children’s places had been swapped and Wesley was pestering his mother with questions. “Mommy, when are they arriving?” 

“Soon, sweetheart.” 

 _“Bridge to Doctor Picard.”_ She snorted.  She was less than 3 metres away from the small bridge. “Wally.”

_“The children are being beamed over. Abby is going to wait for them so expect them in a few minutes.”_

“Thanks, Wally.  Wesley wants to know if you’re coming to his party?”

_“Wouldn’t miss it.  I’ll turn things over to Wu for now.”_

“Great.  Picard out.”

###

When Madyson saw Captain Picard, she grinned and ran to hug his legs . “Captain!” 

“Miss Madyson.” He leaned down and shook the little girl’s hand.  “Captain!  Katie’s mommy saved me!”

“Are you sure it was Lieutenant Barnes? She said she didn’t see you and headed straight for her shuttle.” 

“No....it was Katie’s mommy!”  Jean-Luc shook his head at the five-year-old and then suddenly realisation dawned on him.  He knelt down to Madyson’s height. “Madisyn.  When you said it was Katie’s mommy, which Katie did you mean?”  Madyson pointed over to where Beverly was holding Katie to her hip. 

“that Katie’s mommy?  Katie Picard’s mommy?” 

“Uh huh.  Miss Annie!”   Jean-Luc’s eyes went wide and he gave the small girl a hug.  “Thank you, Madyson.  Why don’t you go have some cake?”

“Ok. Bye Captain!” Madyson skipped off and Jean-Luc just stared at the child.  He wanted to talk to Beverly right away, but she was in the middle of serving cake.  Instead, Jean-Luc walked over to her and took Katie from her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “I have to tell you something later.” 

“Ok.  Want some cake?”  Jean-Luc put Katie down and took the offered plate. “Thanks.”

“Cake?”  Jean-Luc glanced down and his heart nearly broke in two.  “Have you already had a piece?”

“Nuh-uh.”  Jean-Luc looked over at Beverly, who nodded. “Alright.  Here, you can have some of mine.”  Jean-Luc picked up a plate and cut off a corner of his piece and sat Katie down at the table with it.  “Here you go.”

“Tank Oo, Pup pup.”  He smiled and took a bite of his cake and grimaced from the sickly sweet taste.  Beverly laughed.

“Not as good as Marie’s cakes, but it will do. Speaking of....we have got to get a message home.  Marie and Robert must be freaking out.” Jean-Luc nodded, thinking how Robert’s heart was going to break when he told them about Annisyn, too.  “Do you need me in here?”

“Not this instant, but it _is_ your son’s birthday party.  His father is sort of expected to be here.  Why?” 

“I was going to go check on the progress with repairing the communications relay.” 

“Hmm. You do that, then come right back?”  He leaned over and kissed her briefly. “Count on it.”

###

Jean-Luc pulled Beverly into her infirmary and shut the door. “Mm, something on your mind, Jean-Luc?”

“Always, but not right now. I wanted to tell you something Madyson told me today. ”

“Wesley’s friend? The five-year-old who was found in an escape pod on her own?” 

“That’s the one.  We’ve been assuming when she said ‘Katie’s mommy’, that she meant Lieutenant Barnes . Then, when Lieutenant Barnes told us she hadn’t, we thought Madyson had seen the uniform colour and thought it was her friend’s mother because it was someone she was familiar with.....but what if it was in fact, Katie’s mommy?”

“But it wasn’t, Jean-Luc.  Lieutenant Barnes said for herself she hadn’t been on the corridor that pod came from and she headed straight to her own shuttle since she knew the children had already been evacuated.  She didn’t suffer from any injuries, so it’s not like she has memory loss.”  Jean-Luc shook his head and caressed Beverly’s face.  “No, my love.  Another Katie’s mommy.” 

“ _Our_ Katie?”  He nodded.

“Annis...Annie?” She corrected herself, neve sure of who might be listening.  Annisyn was only Annisyn in their private quarters. Anytime they talked to her in public, she was Ann or Annie.  Jean-Luc nodded again.  “So that means...”  Jean-Luc sighed. 

“I don’t know what it means.  Part of me wants to hope Ann managed to escape herself, but it’s been two weeks....if she placed Madyson in her own escape pod...”  Jean-Luc  placed his face in his hands.  “Ann might have...perished in the destruction.” 

“But..what was she doing on that corridor? That’s near our quarters and nowhere near Stellar Cartography!”

“I don’t know.  Could she have gone back for something?  Maybe she didn’t think it was serious and wanted to get something out of her room?”  He sighed. “We might never know.” 

He pulled Beverly into his arms.  “But this doesn’t mean we have confirmation of her death....it’s going to take years...we won’t be able to hold a funeral...we won’t have a body....This really makes me rethink my career choice.” 

“Don’t be silly. I love my starship captain.  We knew the risks...and let’s be honest, ships don’t get destroyed on a regular basis.”  He gave his wife a wry smile. “I suppose you’re right. Still though...Wesley is having those nightmares about the ship. Last time he told me he saw Ann on fire.” 

“Wesley will be alright.  He had nightmares after Jack’s accident too, remember?  I think it’s just how he processes trauma. I’m not a childhood psychologist, but we can talk to someone once we get to a base.  How’s the comms system?”

“Well, we managed a bit of static.”  Beverly grinned. “That’s a good sign!”

“It is . We don’t know how far we can send our message, but I recorded a new one to be played on a loop. Hopefully, it will reach someone...somewhere.  But it’s going to be a while before we can contact Robert and Marie...or Suzanne. Possibly not until we reach Starbase 32.”

“How long will that take?”

“Depends.  We have to keep dropping out of warp to recharge and try sending our message.  If we take the yacht on it’s own, we’d be there in a matter of a few weeks, but with all the shuttles....”  Jean-Luc shrugged.  “I just don’t know.  How are you?  And the baby?”

“Everything is fine.  According to my tricorder scan, the baby is fine.  But this only gives me a generic picture, so as soon as we get to the base, I’m going to head straight to Sickbay.”  Jean-Luc grinned. “I have a feeling we _all_ will.”

###

“Computer....how long have you been activated?” Ann slowly chewed on a portion of one of the energy bars. They still tasted disgusting, but it was energy bars, MREs, or nothing.  And she didn’t have many MREs left so she was trying to hold off on using them for as long as she could.

 _“Fourteen days, five hours, thirty –two minutes, six seconds.”_ She sighed.

“Shit. How close are we to the nearest base, planet, or ship?”

_“The closest starbase is Starbase thirty-two.  You will reach Starbase thirty-two in approximately twenty-two weeks.”_

“Shit.  Any planets closer?”

_“Negative.”_

“Passing ships?” 

_“Negative.  This area of space is unchartered.”_

“Of course it is. That’s why we were here in the first place!”  Annisyn banged on her console. “Computer: Chances of survival?”

_“Fifteen percent.”_

Ann sighed. She had been thinking about her death for the past week, assuming it was a definite.  It was odd, knowing your death was eminent but also knowing there was little you could do to prevent it. Short of miraculously getting her communications system working and being able to reach someone to rescue her, her chances of survival were grim. Either she would run out of food, oxygen, or both long before her little pod would reach the base.  The whole point of the escape pods was that you only used one for a limited time, while you sent a message to another ship to come rescue you.  If you didn’t get rescued, the assumption was that you would be able to get to a planet and land, hence the large landing kit stashed on board.  “Computer: begin personal log. This is probably the last,” she sniffed, “the last personal log of Lieutenant Ann Picard, formerly Annisyn Lobo.  I....I activated the comm on the _Stargazer_ when the red alert sounded and heard Wesley say he wanted Mister Wiggles so I went back for him and...I’m sorry, Wes.  But Mister Wiggles is having an adventure...although I’m not sure how much of an adventure it’s going to be once I die.”  She took a deep breath.

“By the time any of you listen to this, _if_ you ever listen to this, I’ll be dead. Even if I ration out all the food from the landing kit and recycle my urine to drink....I don’t have enough supplies or oxygen to reach Starbase thirty-two.  But I’m heading there...maybe.  My pod lost...it lost the comms system.  I tried using my personal communicator to see if I could fix it, but I’m not good at engineering.  But I did find the star charts and I’ve looked at them, and....I’m lost.  The computer says I will make it to starbase thirty-two in five months.  Papa,  Mom....I’m sorry.  Papa...I hate that I only got to know you in the last three years and I won’t have more time to spend with you.  I love you.  I wish I had met you when I was younger.  Your love and acceptance has meant so much to me...I’m trying to be strong for you, Papa.  I know you’d want me to fight to survive, and I’m trying but...My oxygen is going to run out soon -  Computer, pause recording.  How much oxygen do I have left?”

“ _Tank one is at fifteen percent.  Tank two is at one hundred percent.”_

“Thank you. Resume recording.  Papa,  I’ve almost emptied the first tank of oxygen.  I guess that means I only have two...two...,”  a sob broke in Annisyn’s throat. “I guess I have two weeks left to live.  I’ll try to find a ship to take me home to you, but I must have spun out of control because there’s nothing near. Not even a planet.  But....I’ll try.  For you.  Because I know this will be hard for you.

“Papa, do me a favour and tell Oncle Robert and Tante Marie I love them? 

“Mom, Beverly.  It feels funny calling a woman only a few years older than me Mom, but that’s what you were to me.  Between Suzanne and you, I finally knew what it meant to be loved by a mother...thank you.  Mom, can you tell Suzanne I’m sorry?  I guess I’ll miss her wedding to Louis.  She wanted Abby and I to be her bridesmaids...” Annisyn stopped speaking, her sobs now overcoming her power of speech and she reached for a piece of the tent she had torn apart to blow her nose on before continuing.

“Abby...I never had a sister until I knew you.  I know you weren’t really my sister, but you were my best friend.  Thanks.  I never...I never had a friend before. I hope Walker asks you to marry him soon. I think you’re ready.  And Walker...Uncle Wally....thank you for accepting me as part of your extended family.  I know it was hard with everything....so thank you.”  Annisyn reached for her jug of recycled water and took a swig. 

“Wesley.  My little brother. I’m going to miss you.  Well, I suppose I won’t have any awareness, but I miss you now.  I want you to come and jump on my bed because I’m sleeping after a night shift and you want to read to me.  I want to step on one of your legos in the dark and curse, just because it  means I’m still there.  Mister Wiggles is with me...did I say that?  He’s been a good companion to me.  I hope....I hope you get him back.  I’ve put my pins on him for you.  I think he deserves a promotion, don’t you?  Lieutenant Mister Wiggles has a nice ring to it.  I love you, Wes.”  Annisyn composed herself before recording the very last of her messages to her family.

“My darling Katie.  I....I do love you.  I know we’ve had a rough time of it but I really was happy when I found out I was pregnant, and ecstatic when Maw maw told me I was having a girl.  But then...I failed you.  I’m sorry.  But I know Pup pup and Maw maw will take care of you and raise you, and maybe someday you will learn to forgive me for being such a horrible mother to you when you were first born.  I used to leave you with them and it felt so freeing to not have the responsibility...and that was wrong of me.  You were my child. I should have.....I should have been a better parent.  I’m sorry Katie.  I’m so, so sorry.”  She took another fortifying breath.

“And now, the legal bits.  I, Ann Picard, of sound mind and...soon to be sound body...appoint Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Doctor Beverly Picard as guardians over my daughter, Katrynska Picard. In the event of both of their deaths, I appoint Walker Keel and Abigail Yugen as guardians. In the event of their death, I then appoint Robert and Marie Picard of Chateau Picard in La Barre France as her guardians.  I leave any assets I might own to be held in trust under the control of Captain Picard until such an age as he feels her old enough to handle the responsibility.

“ Computer, End log and transmit as soon as we get within range of a relay.  Direct correspondence to Captain Picard, Doctor Beverly Picard, Commander Walker Keel, or Lieutenant Abigail Yugen with the following message attached – ‘I’m sending this to all of you, my family. Please listen to it.  I love you all. “

_“Affirmative.”_


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been under the weather today, so got lots of writing done....

“This is Captain Picard of the Federation starship _USS Stargazer_ , broadcasting on all frequencies.  This is an S O S.  Our ship has been destroyed. We have evacuated and survivors are on board nine shuttlecrafts. We need your help. 

“This is Captain Picard of the Federation starship _USS Stargazer_ , broadcasting on all frequencies.  This is an S O S.  Our ship has been destroyed. We have evacuated and survivors are on board nine shuttlecrafts. We need your help. 

“This is Captain Picard of the Federation starship _USS Stargazer_ , broadcasting on all frequencies.  This is an S O S.  Our ship has been destroyed. We have evacuated and survivors are on board nine shuttlecrafts. We need your help. 

“This is Captain Picard of the Federation starship _USS Stargazer_ , broadcasting on all frequencies.  This is an S O S.  Our ship has been destroyed. We have evacuated and survivors are on board nine shuttlecrafts. We need your help. “

The message was on a continual loop being broadcast to anyone who could possibly hear it – at this point,  Jean-Luc would have accepted being saved by a Klingon if it meant being rescued.  He sighed at the lack of contact. “Keep trying.  We’ll drop out of warp every six hours or so and re-send the message several times.” 

“Aye, Sir.”  Jean-Luc stared at the blackness ahead.  They had been on the yacht and the shuttles now for three weeks, and everyone was feeling the strain.  This morning, Walker had had to reprimand two Ensigns who had started a relationship and move them onto separate shuttles because they started punching each other.  Walker and Abigail had a fight and she was threatening to return his engagement ring.  And he and Beverly....well,  he really need to talk to his wife. 

He knocked on the door to the  Infirmary.  “Beverly, love?”

“Go away.”

“Open the door?”

“No.”

“How long are you going to stay locked up in there?”

“As long as it takes.” 

“For what?”

“For me to not want to slap you. Honestly, Jean-Luc!” The door flung open and Beverly tugged Jean-Luc inside by his collar.  Her lips were on his in an instant and she was tugging at his clothing. 

“Beverly?”

“Shut up and make love to me.”  Jean-Luc pulled back and eyed his wife. “Not that I’m going to complain...but...is that what this was all about?” 

Beverly slowly nodded. “I’m sorry!  It’s the pregnancy hormones! I know you weren’t around the whole time I was pregnant with Wes and I should have warned you...”

“That my wife gets extremely jealous?  Yeoman Caruthers was sobbing, she was worried we wouldn’t make it to Starbase 32.  I tried to reassure her and I was going to suggest she talk to Marska, when...”

“She hugged you, and I saw.”  Jean-Luc nodded. Beverly resumed removing Jean-Luc’s clothing.  “I knew it didn’t mean anything and you were probably only comforting her but after everything that happened with finding out Jack had cheated on me more than once....I panicked.”  Jean-Luc slowly kissed his wife and tugged off her lab coat.  “I promise, my love.  You are the only woman I ever want.”

“Even when I’m nine months pregnant with this one and I won’t fit through doorways?”  He kissed her nose.  “Especially then.  Have I told you how gorgeous you looked when you were pregnant with Wesley?  I used to have to keep myself from reaching out and touching you when we were together.  I had this little fantasy where you were pregnant with my child...”

“I am now,”  she breathed out. 

“Are what?”

“Pregnant with your child.”  Jean-Luc groaned.  “I know.  If we weren’t stuck on this tiny shuttle with everyone in such close quarters, I would be tearing off your uniform on a daily basis. You being pregnant turns me on so much....”  He tugged the zipper down on her jumpsuit and tugged it off her shoulders. “I know you’re not showing yet, but _I_ know the baby is there.”  Beverly had tears glinting in her eyes and Jean-Luc looked up, startled. “Are you alright?” 

“I told you, I cry a lot when I’m pregnant.”  He grinned. “Well, I’ll just have to distract you, won’t I?”  He flipped the sign for the infirmary to ‘occupied’ and locked the door.  “I love you.” 

###

“No.”

“Abigail, sweetheart, why not?” 

“I want my mother at my wedding.  My father is dead, and my mother is the only family I have. Is that too much to ask?”

“I thought,”  Walker swallowed, “I thought we were your family? What about Jean-Luc and Beverly?  Wesley and Katie?” 

“Great. I have an eight-year-old and a two-year-old sister. My best friend is dead and my mother is lightyears away.  I’m not having Jean-Luc marry us now!” 

“But...I love you.”

“I love you too, but is it too much for me to ask that we have a real wedding?”   Abigail stormed off. Not that there was very far to go in the small ship, but she was determined to get away from her fiancé.  She stormed into the bedroom-cum-classroom and started tidying the small space. Not that there was a lot of tidying to do, but it had been the principle of the matter.  Jean-Luc had grudgingly turned over the main bedroom of his yacht after the second week.  As much as he wanted his space for him and his family, he acknowledged that they all needed to make sacrifices.  They had managed to move the double bed into one of the smaller side rooms, and moved the bunks all into the other room, giving Abigail a large space for the children to play in.  Of course, she didn’t see all of the children as some of the parents didn’t want their children beamed all over, which she understood.  But teaching just a few of the children gave her something to do other than sitting a shift at the ops console. 

###

 _“Agrippa to Stargazer shuttle.  We have received your message.”_ The ensign monitoring the comms sat up straighter.

“This is Ensign Marsden. Agrippa, do you hear me?”

_“We do. Ensign, please put us in touch with your Captain or highest ranking commanding officer.”_

“Please stand by.”  Marsden excitedly tapped his badge.  “Marsden to Captain Picard!”

Jean-Luc was holding Beverly on the small biobed when he heard the beep go off.  “More fires to put out, no doubt.” He kissed Beverly’s temple.  “Go ahead, Ensign.” 

 _“Sir, we’ve made contact with a ship called the Agrippa!”_   Jean-Luc shot straight up.  “Video or audio?”

_“Audio, Sir.”_

“Put it through to the comms panel in the infirmary.  Picard out.”  Beverly kissed him. “Going to conduct your meeting naked?” 

“It’s audio only...”  She laughed and stood up. “Well, I’m getting my uniform back on.” 

_“This is Captain Iota of the Agrippa. Who am I speaking with?”_

“Captain Picard...formerly of the _USS Stargazer_.” 

_“Captain, how many survivors are there?”_

“I’m not sure on the exact number, my first officer will know.  Are you in a position to take us to Starbase thirty-two?”

 _“Negative, Captain.  I’m sorry.  But we can relay a message back and have them dispatch a rescue ship.”_ A grin broke out on Jean-Luc’s face.  “That would be wonderful, Captain Iota.” 

 _“Do you have any injured persons who need attending to.”_ Beverly spoke up. “Nothing major. Just a few bumps and bruises.”

“...and a pregnancy,” Jean-Luc muttered.  Beverly swatted him.

_“I’m sorry, who am I speaking with?”_

“Oh! Sorry.  Doctor Beverly Picard, acting CMO.”

 _“Pleased to make your acquaintance, Doctor Picard. Did I hear Captain Picard say someone was pregnant?  Do they need assistance?”_ She laughed. “No.  I’m the one who is pregnant. He’s just being a nervous father.  I’ll be fine until we reach Starbase thirty-two.” 

There was a chuckling sound from the other side. _“Captain, do you need any additional supplies?”_

“I think we’re alright, but let me check.  You don’t happen to have a spare comms antennae, do you?  Ours doesn’t seem capable of communicating very far.” 

 _“Sorry, Captain.  But the good news is, we picked up your signal and we’re not too far from you.  We’ll contact the base and be back in touch shortly.  Iota out.”_  

Jean-Luc turned to his wife with a grin. “We could be rescued by tomorrow, my love.” 

“Brilliant. You should get dressed and go tell Walker and the others.”

###

_“Captain Picard,  could you send your current crew and civilian manifest so it can be relayed to Starbase thirty two?”_

“Yes, of course.” Jean-Luc motioned for Lieutenant Commander Wu to transmit their current details, detailing who was in which shuttle, and who was deemed missing, along with the four crew who could be declared dead. 

_“Thank you, Captain. We understand you have several children on board?”_

“Yes, my son and granddaughter are with us, as well as a few children of some of my crew.”

 _“Granddaughter?”_ Jean-Luc chuckled.  “Yes.  I had a..dalliance in my youth, shall we say.  Her mother was serving with us as well but she’s...missing.”

_“I’m very sorry, Captain, I shouldn’t pry.”_

“No, it’s fine.  And thank you.”

_“Can you tell us where the ship was destroyed?”_

“Yes. We can send you the coordinates. We also left beacons behind.”  Jean-Luc indicated for Wu to send the coordinates to the other ship.

_“This is all unchartered.”_

“We were in fact, chartering the area when we were attacked by an unknown ship.” 

_“Do you think it’s a hostile area?”_

“I’m not sure. We were there for over a week before the attack happened. And we didn’t see any additional ships.”

 _“Starfleet wants to send a recovery ship for the_ Stargazer. _”_

“Ah. When last we saw it, it was dipping into the atmosphere of the planet we were orbiting.  I’m sure it crashed on the surface.” 

_“Do you think we should search for the missing?”_

“That’s a loaded question. My heart says yes, largely because my own daughter is among the missing, but logically, I don’t think there are any additional survivors.  We haven’t located three of our shuttle pods though...but they only have about thirty days of oxygen and only seven of supplies.  It’s worth a try, if you don’t think it would be a waste of time.”

_“We’ll see what we can do.  Agrippa out.”_

Jean-Luc clapped his hands. “Right then. Senior staff meeting – now.” 

“I think it’s safe to say we are going to be rescued in a matter of days.  Likely once we reach Starbase thirty-two, with the exception of families, we are likely to all be separated. First, to give our sides of the incident, and possibly we will be reassigned and never serve together again,” Jean-Luc took a deep breath and looked around the table.  “I know some of you have been thrust into these positions due to the status of your superior, and some of you have only been serving with me for a short while, but I wanted to tell you all it’s been a pleasure.  I’m sure you will go far whatever you choose to do when we return.” 

###

They were picked up by the large ship, the _Waggoneer_.  Per Starfleet orders, Jean-Luc was separated from both Walker and Lieutenant Commander Wu while they were interviewed.  They had nearly tried to separate Jean-Luc from Beverly as well, until he pointed out their shared parenting responsibilities.  From the _Waggoneer,_ Jean-Luc and Beverly quickly filed for temporary guardianship of Katie, not wanting her to be removed from them for a minute. 

Jean-Luc was called into the Captain’s ready room, which had been commandeered by Admiral Quinn to conduct interviews before they returned to the  base. 

“Jean-Luc,  I can’t tell you how pleased I am to see you. We were all worried when the _Stargazer_ failed to check in.” 

“Gregory.  I’m pleased to see you as well.  We were not looking forward to the long trip back.”  Gregory Quinn’s grin turned serious.

“I’m sure. Now, I’m sorry, Jean-Luc, but I need to begin my official interview.”

“I understand, Greg.” 

“Captain Picard, this interview is being conducted to determine why the _Stargazer_  was lost, and if it was by any fault of your own.  This interview will determine if any charges will be levelled at you once we return to Federation space.  Do you understand?”

“Yes, Admiral.” 

“Good. Now, begin by giving me a breakdown of events leading to your order to abandon the ship.”

Jean-Luc spoke for almost two hours, taking a break to accept a cup of tea from his friend and superior.  When they were done, Admiral Quinn rose from behind his desk and extended his hand.  “Thank you, Captain.”  Jean-Luc nodded.

“Now, Jean-Luc...you know it’s going to take a while before I can give you another ship. Some of the other admirals....”  Quinn held up his hands. “Well, you know how some of them feel about you.”

“You would think that after twenty-two years of captaining the same ship, they would be over it.”

“Yes, well...I guess I can tell you now that it was one admiral in particular who ensured you were never given a better ship, despite being one of the best Captains in Starfleet.”  Jean-Luc nodded. “I can only guess.” 

“I would like to temporarily assign you to the diplomatic corps.”

“Me? A diplomat?  What about my wife?  Beverly is a Starfleet doctor, not a diplomat’s wife.” 

“Well...”

“Greg, I won’t do it.  I won’t be separated from my wife.  It was a promise I made to her when we were married, and I don’t intend on breaking it. Especially not with the baby.”

“You mean, taking custody of Katie?”  Jean-Luc shook his head and grinned. “No, Beverly’s pregnant.” 

“Ah, congratulations!”

“Thank you. So you can see why I don’t want to take a position away from her.  Between Wesley, Katie, and being pregnant, Beverly needs me.”  Quinn nodded. “I’ll see what we can do, but all of your senior officers are going to be grounded for a while, and I understand you appointed her CMO?”

“Only because Greyhorse was missing and Beverly was the most senior doctor...well, the only doctor other than our intern.” Quinn nodded. 

“I’ll see what I can do. But..do think about it.  Talk to Beverly. See what she thinks.” 

###

 “A diplomat?  Greg wants you to be a diplomat?” Beverly shook her head at Jean-Luc in the set of guest quarters that had been given to the family.

“I know, it sounds so far-fetched.  But, he thinks it might be a while before they are willing to give me a ship, and he thought this would-“

“Keep you out of his hair?”  Jean-Luc grinned. “Something like that.”

“What about me?  I can’t be a diplomat’s wife.  I mean, I _can_ , but I’m a doctor, not a lady who lunches.”  Jean-Luc leaned over and kissed her. “And that’s exactly what  I said to Greg. Well, not in those words.  But I told him I wasn’t going to be split from you and the children, and you were a doctor.”

“What about teaching at the Academy?  I’m sure I could get transferred to Medical.”

“I suppose I could terrorize a few years of Cadets.  But what about you becoming a CMO?”  Beverly tossed her hair. “I told you, I want to earn my Commander pips.  I’ll have to return to the Academy to take the course anyway. Not until this one is a little older, though.”

“Ah, your cunning plan.” 

“You know it.”

###

“Greg, this is ridiculous!”

“Walker, look. You know we have to do a formal investigation. I need you to tell me did Jean-Luc do anything that put the ship in jeopardy?”

“No!” 

“You’re absolutely sure?”

“Greg, we were on a routine mapping mission that _Starfleet_ sent us on.  To an assumed _uninhabited system_. There was absolutely no way Johnny, I’m sorry, Captain Picard, could have possibly put the _Stargazer_ in jeopardy, and he definitely wouldn’t with his _wife and children_  on board.  Come on, Greg. You’ve known Johnny and me since we were cadets.  Have we _ever_ done anything that would make you think he would?”  Greg merely pointed at his chest and Walker saw red. “Oh, Pish.  You know what happened.  Jean-Luc was defending Corey after Corey was punched.  None of us knew that Nausicaan had a blade!  And that was....good grief, Greg, that was over twenty-five years ago! You can’t tell me that some of the top brass are still hanging their liver out over an accident that happened over twenty-five years ago.” 

“I’m sorry, Walker.  Some of the admiralty think Jean-Luc is reckless.”  Walker glared at his old friend. “Reckless?  Really?  Clearly, they haven’t been following the man’s career for the past twenty-odd years.  With the exception of this recent incident and Pug’s death, has Jean-Luc ever lost a member of his crew?” 

“Well, no...” 

“So you see? How can they think he’s being reckless?”  Gregory Quinn held out his hands. “I don’t know, Walker.  Look, I’m trying.  I offered Jean-Luc a position in the diplomatic corps.  Do you think you can get him to agree to it?” 

Walker shook his head. “Not my job, Greg.  Besides, he won’t split up from Bev. Not now, not with Katie, and Wes, and the new baby.  What job can you find for a doctor in the diplomatic corps?”

“It depends. Sometimes we need to respond to situations where we need to send Doctors....”

“Beverly’s pregnant. You can’t send her somewhere unknown with an unknown virus.”  Greg frowned . “I’m sure I’ll think of something.” 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short but...tissue warning.

Beverly laughed as she entered her old quarters on Starbase 32.  “I can’t believe my old quarters weren’t occupied.” Jean-Luc nodded.

“It’s a bit like déjà vu.” 

“What’s day ga voo?” 

“Déjà vu, Wes.  It’s the feeling that you’ve been somewhere or done something before.” 

“Oh.  So because Mommy and I used to live here it’s...that thing you said?”

“Right.”  Wesley looked around the old quarters. “Mommy, where’s Katie going to sleep? I don’t wanna share my room with a girl!”

“That’s a good point, my love.  I don’t think we want her in _our_ bedroom....”  he gave his wife a knowing look.  She grinned. “When the base received the request for quarters for us, they asked me if I wanted my old ones, I told them that was fine, but we needed more room and they added on another bedroom.  Go look. There’s a door next to Wesley’s.” 

“Ah, perfect.” 

“Papa, can we go swimming?”  Jean-Luc ruffled Wesley’s hair. “Tomorrow, I promise.  But we have a lot to do today. We need to get some clothing and some new toys and you asked Mommy for some books, didn’t you?”

“Uh-huh.”

“We should visit the base school. See if they can put Wes in classes while we’re here.”   Jean-Luc nodded. “And see if the daycare can take Katie.  Are you going to ask Dalen for some work?”  Beverly nodded. “Not my old position back, but while we’re here I can assist him.  And, I believe I have an important appointment this afternoon I expect you to come with me to.”

“Oh?”

“We get to see the baby for the first time.  It’s a little earlier than usual, but Dalen agrees with me that we should check and make sure everything is alright.” 

“Can I come too?” 

“You are going to the aquarium with Walker and Abigail.” 

“Yay! I like seeing the fish. Is Katie coming too?” 

“Fishie!”  Jean-Luc beamed. “That’s right, Katie. You and Wes are going to go look at the fishies with Uncle Wally and Abby.” 

Jean-Luc ordered some furniture from the station’s stores for their bedrooms, and replicated some toys and books for the children while Beverly completed the school enrollment forms.  She looked up from the form. 

“I’m not sure what to put on ‘grade’.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, Wesley has been doing lessons above his age since he was five.  Abigail had him working on fifth grade level schoolwork with Marska’s kids.”

“So put grade five.”

“But he’s only eight.  That’s grade three.”   Jean-Luc sighed. “Beverly, is it the same teachers who were here three years ago?” 

“I think so.”

“Well, then they probably remember Wesley.  Put down grade five.  If they have a problem with it, I’m sure it will get corrected.”  Beverly nodded and adjusted the form.  “To enroll Katie in daycare, we need to list our relationship to her.”  Beverly frowned. “I suppose, grandparents?”

“Well, what else are we? Katie is my daughter’s daughter.”

“True, but we’re her temporary guardians until Annisyn....well, we’re her temporary guardians.”  Jean-Luc pursed his lips in thought. “Which gives us more authority over her?  Being grandparents, or guardians?”

“Guardians.”

“Put that.”  She nodded and received immediate responses. “Ok, it looks like Katie can start as early as tomorrow and they want to see Wesley for an assessment.  Well, that’s not surprising given our responses. Good thing Wesley doesn’t mind tests.”

The comm dinged just as Beverly and Jean-Luc were sitting down to Lunch with the children. “Picard here.”

_“Doctor Picard, is the Captain there?”_

“Yes, I’m here. Go ahead.”

_“Sir, we’ve received a message for you.”_

“Already? I only contacted my brother a few hours ago.  Who is it from?”

 _“Sir,  it says the sender is Ann Picard?”_ Beverly gasped and nearly dropped the plate she was holding. 

“I...ah....send it...” Jean-Luc’s voice broke, “Send it through to our console here. Wait! Is it audio, video, or written?” 

_“Audio only, Sir.”_

“That’s fine. Send it here.”  Jean-Luc let out a breath and walked over to the console as it was transmitted and read the note attached.

 _“I’m sending this to all of you, my family. Please listen to it.  I love you all.”_  Jean-Luc read the words and wondered who the ‘all’ was when the chime to their quarters went off.  Beverly answered it, and Walker strode in with Abigail on his heels. Abigail was wiping tears from her eyes and Beverly immediately went to embrace the younger woman. 

“Johnny.  Did you get her message too?”  He nodded. “I haven’t listened to it yet, we only just got it.  Did you?”

“No,  I wanted to check with you.  Should we listen to it together?”  Jean-Luc nodded.  “Tonight, after the children are in bed.  I don’t want them to...well, I don’t want to upset them if it’s what I think it is.”  Walker gave him a grim smile, understanding.  “twenty hundred?”

“Sounds good,” Jean-Luc turned towards Wesley, who was cramming the last of his ham and cheese sandwich into his mouth. “I suppose you want to go to the aquarium with your uncle?”

“Uh-huh!”  

“Go get cleaned up, and then you can go.”  Jean-Luc picked up Katie and carried her into her bedroom. “And you, little lady, you need a clean diaper.  You know, you’re going to have to soon learn how to use the toilet like the rest of us.”

“Potty?”  Jean-Luc grinned, Katie’s vocabulary had increased in the past month and he couldn’t wait to tell Annisyn....and then he paused in changing Katie’s diaper and frowned.  Annisyn was probably not coming home.  She had somehow managed to record her goodbyes and he was going to have to somehow tell the two-year-old that her mother wasn’t...he couldn’t even bring the thought to the front of his mind without shuddering.  He finished changing Katie’s diaper and kissed the top of her head.  “I will always take care of you.”

###

Jean-Luc was having trouble concentrating on the transfer requests he was trying to approve.  It seemed silly, when the ship had been destroyed, but technically, everyone was still under his command and if they found a new position they wanted, they had to request the transfer off.  Jean-Luc also wasn’t looking forward to the barrel of ‘we regret to inform you’ letters informing the family of the missing, presumed dead crewmen.  Beverly reached out and touched his shoulder. “Jean-Luc?” 

“Hmm?”

“I said, it’s almost time for my appointment with Dalen. Are you still coming?”  He nodded absently. “Yes, of course.”  Beverly sat down next to Jean-Luc and took his hands in hers. “Should we move my appointment?”

“No,  I’m sorry. I can’t stop thinking about the message....that it’s going to be Annisyn’s final goodbye to us and that she’s really...” 

“I know.  Me too.”  Beverly leaned over and gave Jean-Luc a gentle kiss.  “But let’s go see this baby first.” 

Dalen Quaice was overjoyed seeing Beverly and Jean-Luc again, especially since Beverly was pregnant.

“Looks as though you’re about twelve weeks?”  Beverly nodded. “I scanned myself in Sickbay on the _Stargazer_ when I first realised I was pregnant  to get an image to give Jean-Luc for his birthday. Your dates match up with mine.”

“Good.  I think we might have to put you on some supplements...no doubt that was your original plan.”  Beverly nodded. “It was.  I did manage a few rounds of supplements on the shuttle, but then I needed them for the children.”  Dalen nodded.

“Yes, I’m still waiting for them to retrieve the medical records off your black box.  But we’ll have a chat doctor to doctor later about the rest of the crew’s medical needs.  Let’s take a look at this baby, shall we?”

  Jean-Luc stared in awe at the little blip on the monitor that was their baby. 

“That’s....that’s our baby?”  Beverly nodded. “It’s not much to look at yet,  but give it a few more weeks.” 

“Her. You said it was a girl. Can we tell if you’re right?”

“No, not yet.  I still think I’m right.” Jean-Luc patted her hand. “You always are, love.”

###

Jean-Luc, Beverly, Walker, and Abigail sat  in stunned silence as they started to play Annisyn’s message.

 _“Papa,  I’ve almost emptied the first tank of oxygen.  I guess that means I only have two...two...,_ ”  They listened as Annisyn sobbed and tears sprung to Jean-Luc’s eyes. “ _I guess I have two weeks left to live”._ Beverly gasped and looked over at Jean-Luc, who was clutching her hand with tears streaming down his face.  Beverly did the calculations and realised they were listening to this likely as she was dying or she already was dead.  Beverly shivered as her medical brain started thinking about everything that would happen as Annisyn slowly suffocated to death in the pod.  Jean-Luc wrapped an arm around her, thinking she was cold as they continued to listen to her recording. 

They laughed a few times, and Beverly shot a knowing look over at Walker and Abigail when Annisyn mentioned they should get married.  Beverly wept when she listened to Annisyn’s words to Katie.  They had been through so much in such a short amount of time, but Beverly thought she was really starting to settle into motherhood.

_“I, Ann Picard, of sound mind and...soon to be sound body...appoint Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Doctor Beverly Picard as guardians over my daughter, Katrynska Picard. In the event of both of their deaths, I appoint Walker Keel and Abigail Yugen as guardians. In the event of their death, I then appoint Robert and Marie Picard of Chateau Picard in La Barre France as her guardians.  I leave any assets I might own to be held in trust under the control of Captain Picard until such an age as he feels her old enough to handle the responsibility.”_

All four friends were openly crying now, all being held by each other.  “I guess...I guess this makes it official.  Katie Picard is our daughter now and Annisyn....”  Jean-Luc couldn’t even say it. 

“She was my best friend.  I know she said she never had one, but neither did I...not until I met you, Bev. You and Annisyn are my best friends and I was going to ask you both to be my maids of honour at our wedding...”  Abigail broke into sobs.  Walker gently rubbed her back and Jean-Luc stood up and walked over to the replicator.  “I’m afraid it’s synthehol for all of us. My bar was destroyed, ad Bev can’t drink the real stuff anyway.”  He replicated the bottle and four glasses and carried it back over to the group. 

“To...my lovely daughter, Ann.  I will always love you.  I promise we will tell Katie about you all the time and you will never be forgotten.  To Ann.”

“To Ann,” they echoed Jean-Luc.


	8. Chapter 8

Jean-Luc and Beverly were standing in the doorway to Katie’s room, watching her sleep in her cot and Jean-Luc wrapped an arm around Beverly.  “How do you tell a two-year-old their mother isn’t coming back?” 

“I was four,” Beverly whispered.  Jean-Luc turned to face Beverly. “I’m sorry, my love.  This must be hard on you, too.” 

“I hadn’t,” she swallowed, “I hadn’t really thought about it at first, but Katie lost her father even if he wasn’t in her life when she was a baby, and now she’s lost her mother and she’s going to be raised by her grandparents...just like me.”  Beverly clutched at Jean-Luc’s hand.  “I’ll tell you the story, but...will you hold me?  I’ve never told anyone before.”

“Not even Jack?” She shook her head. “I tried, but he wasn’t interested.” 

“I’m sorry, my love,”  Jean-Luc kissed her and let her draw him away from Katie’s room, shutting the door behind them and activating the monitor.

Jean-Luc and Beverly settled into their bed and she rested her head on his shoulder.  “My parents died in an explosion when I was four.  They were both scientists, and had me while they  were stationed on Luna.  We stayed there...well, _I_   stayed there until just after their death.  I guess they had been there for about ten years?  They weren’t in Starfleet, they were Federation scientists.  I still don’t know what they were working on....it’s been hard to find records.  I know Walker looked for me a few years ago and he couldn’t gain access either.”  Jean-Luc frowned. “That’s odd.”

“Isn’t it?  I guess it was classified. Anyway, after I was born, Nana came to live with us and she babysat me while my parents worked in their lab, sometimes they worked really long hours and I barely saw them.”   Jean-Luc reached out and cupped her cheek. “Is that why you always insisted on never spending longer than eight hours away from Wesley when he was a baby?”  She nodded. “I didn’t want him to feel...well, to feel like I felt.”

“How did you feel?”

“I was four. I thought my parents didn’t love me. And then they....died.  And I hated them even more after.” 

“I’m sorry, Bev.  I never knew.”  Beverly wiped her tears. “No,” she whispered. “I never told anyone.”

“Do you think Katie will grow to hate Annisyn?”

“I don’t know.  When they came to tell my Nana about my parents, she just told me they had gone away for a long time and she was taking me to Arvada Three.  I didn’t really understand she meant they had died until I was older and asked her where they were.” Jean-Luc cleared his throat slightly. 

“So how do we tell her?  What can we tell her?  Wesley will understand, I think, but he’s older than her.  And Katie is used to being in our quarters and having us look after her so I’m not sure how much will change for her.”  Beverly smiled. “She might start calling you Papa instead of Pup pup.”   Jean-Luc chuckled.  “I suppose you’ll be Mommy instead of Maw maw...but I’d rather us be Pup pup and Maw maw if it meant we still had Annisyn.... I’m sorry, we were talking about you and your parents.” 

Beverly smiled. “No, we were talking about how to tell Katie about her mother and my situation came up.  Jean-Luc, it happened a long time ago and I’ve learned to deal with it...but it took a long time and I was hurt for a long time. I was angry at my Nana for not telling me the truth when I was younger, so I think we need to tell Katie her mother is dead.”

“Is she?”  Beverly sighed. “I’m not going to tell you what happens to the body without oxygen.  It’s not pretty, but if her oxygen ran out, she might have survived for a little bit breathing what was left in the capsule, and if she was found right away we could try to revive her, but....”

“You’re saying it’s unlikely and we should file her personal log with Starfleet and issue a death certificate, aren’t you?”  Beverly placed her hand over his and gave it a squeeze before slowly nodding.  “I am.  I’m sorry, Jean-Luc.”

“I know you are, my love.”   Jean-Luc’s hands wandered down Beverly’s body and he caressed her bump.  “If it’s a girl, can we call her Ann?” 

“Why don’t we use it as her middle name?” Jean-Luc smiled. “Thank you.” 

###

Beverly and Jean-Luc were woken up by Wesley climbing into their bed and snuggling down between them. 

“Wesley, why are you here?”

“Papa, I had a nightmare.”  Jean-Luc propped himself up on an elbow to look at his son. “What was it about?”

“The ‘gazer was blowing up and Annie was still on it and I saw her on fire.”  Beverly gasped.  Jean-Luc reached out for Wesley and pulled him against his body. “Wesley, it was only a bad dream.” 

“I know, but...I miss Annie.” Jean-Luc dropped a kiss on the top of Wesley’s head as the boy sobbed into his father’s chest. “We do, too.  But come on, let’s get you back in bed.”

“Aww, do I have to? Why can’t I stay with you and Mommy?”   Jean-Luc shared a look with Beverly over his head.  She stroked his hair. “Because, Wes, you have your own room. Besides, you left Doctor Wiggle in there, he’ll be scared without you.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”  Beverly was relieved that Wesley had taken to the new bear and even had given it nearly the same name as his old bear.  She thought it was nice that Annisyn had the bear with her, and it brought tears to her eyes when she thought about Annisyn hearing Wesley wanted his bear and going back for it.  “Mommy, are you crying?”

“Sorry, baby.  Wesley....Papa and I have to tell you something.  Today we found out that Annie....Annie isn’t coming back.” 

“Did she die?”  Beverly nodded, tight lipped to keep her sob from escaping. 

“Like Daddy Jack?” 

“Yes, like Daddy Jack.”  Wesley thought about it for a minute. “But Papa, you said she was lost and might come back.”  Jean-Luc nodded. “I did. We thought she was.  But today we found out she won’t be.  She left a message for you.  Do you want to hear it?” 

“Can I?” 

“Sure.  Wait here,”  Jean-Luc put his robe on and went out into the living room.  He transferred just the part of Annisyn’s message for Wesley so he wouldn’t hear the rest onto a PADD and brought it back in. 

_“Wesley.  My little brother. I’m going to miss you.  Well, I suppose I won’t have any awareness, but I miss you now.  I want you to come and jump on my bed because I’m sleeping after a night shift and you want to read to me.  I want to step on one of your legos in the dark and curse, just because it  means I’m still there.  Mister Wiggles is with me...did I say that?  He’s been a good companion to me.  I hope....I hope you get him back.  I’ve put my pins on him for you.  I think he deserves a promotion, don’t you?  Lieutenant Mister Wiggles has a nice ring to it.  I love you, Wes.”_

“Mommy, I’m glad she has Mister Wiggles.” 

“Ah, Wes. He’s not Mister Wiggles anymore,” Jean-Luc teased. “Annie promoted him.  He’s Lieutenant Mister Wiggles.”  Wesley only giggled. 

###

Jean-Luc looked at the defeated face of his brother on the monitor.  _“We just listened to our Anna’s message. Is it true?”_ Jean-Luc nodded.

“If we look at the facts....she’s been missing now for over four weeks. She would have run out of oxygen...a few days ago by our calculations.” 

_“I’m so sorry to hear this.  But, I’m relieved you, Beverly,and Wesley are all alright.”_

“And the baby.” 

_“Baby? Oh, you mean Katie. I’m sorry I neglected to mention her.”_ Robert raised his eyebrows. 

“Oh, no, I guess my message never sent before the ship was destroyed.  Beverly’s pregnant!”  Jean-Luc grinned at his brother.  _“That’s amazing, Jean-Luc! Congratulations.  We have news, too.  It seems that whatever has blessed you and Beverly with a baby has decided to bless us as well. Marie is expecting.”_ Jean-Luc’s grin got larger. 

“This is incredible news, Robert! “ 

_“Now. When will you be coming home?”_

“I don’t know.  We still have the inquiry to attend, and then we might be given new assignments right away.  But...Beverly wants to have the baby in La Barre.” 

_“Absolutely.  Should I contact the contractors to enlarge the attic apartment?_ ”

“Unless you would prefer we move into our own place?  We could live in the cottage after Suzanne moves out.”  Robert shook his head. _“Non. You will stay with us.  Wesley can keep your old room.  We’ll make a bedroom for Katie and a nursery for the baby upstairs._ ” 

“Thank you, Robert. “ 

_“Jean-Luc, would you like me to tell Suzanne?”_ Jean-Luc sighed.  “I would love to take you up on that offer, but I think it’s my responsibility as Ann’s....father and superior officer.”  Robert nodded.  _“Tell her to come over if she doesn’t want to be alone.  I know it’s been hard on her since her mother decided to move back to Connecticut.”_

“Thanks. I’ll let her know. And Robe?  I love you.” 

_“Love you too, Lucy.”_

###

Jean-Luc eyed his son, clad in a red pair of swim trunks.  “You sure you don’t need the floats?”

“Daaaaaaaadddddddeeeeeeeee I’m eight. I know how to swim.”  Jean-Luc chuckled. Wesley hadn’t figured out how to draw out ‘papa’, so he always reverted to ‘daddy’ when he wanted to whinge. “Of course, what was I thinking.   Let me get Katie in hers and then we can go in the water – but not too deep!” 

“Awww.”  Jean-Luc rolled his eyes.  “As soon as Mommy or Uncle Wally or Abby get here, you may go into the deep water with an adult, but I can’t take Katie in the deep end.”  Wesley pouted. “Fine.” 

Jean-Luc chuckled.  “How about you help me teach Katie how to swim?” 

“Ok! Katie, watch this!”  Wesley jumped into the pool and Jean-Luc kept an eye on him while he finished getting Katie into her pair of arm floats. He sat her on what he could only describe as a miniature lifeboat, only decorated with yellow ducks and with a hole in the middle for her legs to be in the water.  He had laughed when Beverly presented him with the device, but she assured him it would mean he didn’t need to hold Katie the whole time in the water. 

He got in the water clutching Katie and tentatively let her go, and she floated and giggled. “Swim Pup pup!”  She splashed her arms in the water and giggled some more as she splashed Jean-Luc and Wesley.  “Hey! No fair!” Wesley splashed her back and the water hit Katie’s face.  She scrunched up her face for a minute, and Jean-Luc thought she was going to cry, but she continued to giggle. 

“Be gentle, Wes.” 

“I know, Papa.” 

“Alright, Wes. Show me what you can do.”  Wesley flipped onto his back and floated, unassisted.  “Good job, Wesley.  Now, can you swim?”

“Uh-huh!”  Wesley flipped over and paddled his arms and legs, making Jean-Luc laugh. “Why are you laughing, Papa?”

“Wes, that’s called the ‘doggie paddle’.  Come on, I know I showed you how to swim properly.” 

“Yeah, but this one is fun!”

“Ok, Wes, want to help Katie learn how to swim?”

“Yeah!” 

“Remember how I taught you?”  Wesley nodded. “Uh huh, you held me with your arms under me and then let go.” 

“Right!  So hold out your arms and we’ll lay Katie over your arms and you can hold her while she kicks. But don’t let go of her, alright?  If you get tired, just let me know.”  Jean-Luc put his arms under Wesley’s just in case he needed the help, but Wesley was fine. “Ok, Katie.  Now you have to kick your legs!”  Katie giggled.  “You know, up and down?”  Katie continued to giggle and splashed her hands on the water.

“Papa, she’s not listening.” 

“Maybe you need to show her.  Here, I’ll take Katie, you show her how to kick.” 

“Katie, watch me!”  Wesley floated on his stomach and kicked his feet out as if they were flippers.  “See? Can you do that?”  Katie kicked a few times.  “Look Papa! She did it!” 

“Good job, Katie.  And good job teaching, Wes.”  Jean-Luc placed Katie back in her duck printed float in time to see Beverly slip into the water.  Her pregnant belly was just visible in her swimsuit and he loved it.  He leaned over to kiss her.  “You’re beautiful.” 

“How’s it going?”

“Well, Wesley just taught Katie how to kick.  Katie, do you want to show Maw maw how you kick?” 

“Maw maw! Kick!”  Jean-Luc grinned and once again removed Katie from her raft and laid her across his arms.  “Ok, like Wesley showed you.”  Katie kicked a few times and Beverly clapped before taking Katie in her arms.  “Good work, Katie.” 

“I suppose Wesley wants to go in deeper water?”  Jean-Luc nodded. “I told him we had to wait until someone could either take him or Katie.  Which do you want?”

“I’ll take this one,”  Beverly said as she spun with Katie.  Jean-Luc gave Beverly a quick kiss. “See you later.”  Jean-Luc swan dove under the water to catch up with Wesley, who had already swam halfway across the pool. 

###

Annisyn blinked her eyes open. She was lying on a cold hard slab under a thin piece of cloth with Wesley’s bear next to her.  The last thing she remembered was clutching Mister Wiggles and telling her family she loved them.  _Where am I?_ _Why am I naked? Is this...is this what it’s like to be dead?  But then...why do I have Mister Wiggles and why does this look like a laboratory?_ Someone entered the room.  Annisyn tried to turn her head and gasped.  Either her mind was playing tricks on her, or she was on an alien ship.  An _unknown_ alien ship.  The being staring down at her was tall and humanoid, easily ten feet tall with three legs and four arms.  The being seemed to shuffle instead of walk.  Its skin was pink and scaly and it’s face – two eyes, a thin, flat nose, and antennae sticking out if it’s ears was a little frightening to Annisyn.  The being opened its mouth to reveal three rows of perfectly sharpened teeth.

“You are awake.” 

“You...you speak Standard?”

“No.” Annisyn was confused for a minute, then realised she had pinned her communicator badge  onto the bear.  “You will tell us who you are.”

Annisyn’s face became blank, suddenly remembering her Starfleet training.  “Picard, Ann. Lieutenant.” 

“You are...human?” 

“Yes.”

“You are lost?”

“Yes.”

“We will help.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another shorter than usual chapter, but I asked on Twitter, and readers said they prefer short chapters!


	9. Chapter 9

“What do you mean, you can help me?” Annisyn went to stand, then realised she didn’t have any clothes. “Where are my clothes?” 

“What are clothes?”

“Clothes.  The cloth I was wearing on my body!” 

“Is important?”

“Yes!  Humans don’t walk around without clothes.”  Annisyn wrapped the thin sheet covering her around her like a toga and clutched Mister Wiggles. “Where. Are. My. Clothes?”  There was a strange whistling sound and another being shuffled into the room.  The two communicated in a series of whistles and clicks, before the second being turned and left, to return a few moments later with Annisyn’s camisole and trousers. 

“My underwear?”  More clicks and whistles.  “What are underwear?”

“They’re the things that we wear under our...oh never mind.  Do you mind?  I’d like to get dressed now.”  Both beings stared at her. “Get out!”  The beings shrugged at each other and left the room.  Annisyn sighed in relief and pulled on her trousers and camisole.  She wondered where her jacket was, and then shrugged. It was probably in her escape pod, if that was anywhere around here.  She took her communicator badge off of Mister Wiggles and attached it to her camisole.

 She walked around the room she was in, and she couldn’t figure out if she was in a laboratory or a sickbay.  There were lots of strange devices and equipment around the room, but some things were universal.  She glanced at the machinery next to her “bed” -  They managed to scale down a breathing mask to fit her face, and she thought she spotted the same type of machinery Jack had been attached to to monitor his heart.  She shuddered.  She didn’t want to think about Jack.

They said they would help her.  Did they understand what the word help meant?  Obviously, her translator didn’t translate everything they said.  Maybe they spoke two languages and it was the other language her translator understood?  Annisyn moved towards the large door and she was surprised when it slid open at her approach.  _Not a prisoner, then._ She clutched Wesley’s bear, her only possession as she walked out into the sweeping corridor.  Was she on a ship? A spacestation? A planet?  Annisyn tried to find a window to look out of, but the corridor walls were all solid aluminium and there had been no windows in the other room, except to look into other rooms.  She shrugged and turned left.

She met a third being. Or at least, this one was shorter than the other two . Was it a child? Another gender?  Or just a short whatever they were?  It clicked at her in greeting and she held up her hand “Hello?”

The being mimicked her back. “Heh....llow?” 

“Can you help me?” 

“Cahhnn Ooo Haall puh muh ee“  Annisyn frowned. 

“No, I’m asking you for help.”

“No ahhm ahsink Ooo fir haall puh.”

“Who are you? Where am I?”

“Hoo aahhrr ooo wuhh aahhrr aahhmm aaaayyyy”  Annisyn sighed.  “Never mind.”

“Neevaahh maahhnd.”  Annisyn pushed past the third being and found herself at the end of the corridor.  This time, she turned right.  She wandered through the near empty corridors, wisely choosing not to speak with any of the other beings she encountered.  Obviously, the beings she had spoken to before had learned a Federation language.  She wondered if she was close to federation space and tapped her comm. badge.  “Ann Picard to anyone listening?” 

Silence. She sighed. She really needed to find out where she was and how to get back.  She wondered if her last message to her family had been transmitted, or if she was on a list of missing, presumed dead.  Had they held a funeral for her?  Was Beverly worried about her trying to make her oxygen last or had they done the calculations to realise she would have ran out?  Annisyn didn’t know how many days had passed, and she didn’t know how to find out.  She pushed open another door, this time into a room that was filled with machinery and many more pink beings.  This could be the bridge, or engineering, or just a computer lab.  She strode over to an empty console and took a seat.  She wasn’t an engineer, but maybe she could make it work.

She stared at the buttons in front of her. None of the buttons or switches had latin characters on them, and instead they had what she would only describe later as a series of squiggles.  She pressed buttons at random, but nothing happened.  She glanced over at one of the beings and noticed they had inserted a card into a slot that was attached to a lanyard.  She wondered if that was what she needed for access, and decided she needed to figure out a way to get one.  She picked Mister Wiggles up again and left the room.  If she kept going, maybe she could find the bridge of this ship, for now Annisyn was sure she was on a ship. 

###

Beverly woke with a start, gasping for breath.  Jean-Luc opened his eyes.  “Beverly?  Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. I’m going to....go make myself a cup of tea.” Beverly swung her legs over the side of the bed and Jean-Luc held out his hand. “I’ll get it for you.  What kind did you want?” 

“Thank you.  Camomile. “  Jean-Luc raised an eyebrow in the darkened room as he got out of bed.  “Camomile?  Beverly, did you have a bad dream?”  Beverly nodded in the dark, but Jean-Luc saw the movement. “Lights, ten percent.” 

A soft light filled the room and Jean-Luc looked at his wife.  Beverly’s face was streaked with tears.  Jean-Luc strode over to her side of the bed and knelt down next to her. “My love?”

“Sorry. I....it was just a bad dream, nothing for you to concern yourself with.”  Beverly rubbed her stomach.  “Baby’s a bit unsettled.”  Jean-Luc smiled. “You can feel the baby?”  She nodded and placed his hand on her abdomen. “You won’t be able to yet, she’s only the size of a lemon, but it feels like bubbles.” 

Jean-Luc grinned. “You sure it’s not just gas?”  Beverly cracked a smile and swatted him.  “I’m sure.”  Jean-Luc ran his hand down her face and cupped her cheek.  “How about I get us some tea and a snack, and then you can tell me why you and the baby are unsettled.”

“Carrot cake. Clara wants carrot cake.”

“Clara?”  Beverly nodded. “Clara Ann.”  Jean-Luc grinned. “I like that.  What if it’s a boy?”  She shook her head. “It won’t be.  I told you, I just know.”

Jean-Luc crept out into the main area of their quarters, not wanting to make noise and disturb either of the children.  Katie, he knew, could sleep through anything, but Wesley was a light sleeper. Fortunately, Wesley’s door was closed.  Jean-Luc glanced at the chronometer. Three in the morning.  With luck, the children would stay sleeping for at least three more hours and allow him and Beverly to get more sleep. 

“Two cups of camomile, one large slice of carrot cake, two forks.”  Jean-Luc settled the tray over Beverly’s lap and she raised her eyebrows. “You think I’m sharing?”  Jean-Luc grinned. “No. I just wanted to see the look on your face. I’ll be right back.”  Jean-Luc returned with his own slice of cake and climbed back into bed. 

“This cake is amazing.  Which one did you pick?” 

“The one your nana makes.”  Beverly raised her eyebrows. “Really?” 

“All of the things we previously programmed in are still there.  Even some of the French food I programmed in years ago...did you ever eat any of it?”  Beverly grinned, remembering the visit.  Jean-Luc had spent hours out of his meagre leave painstakingly copying some of his favourite foods into the replicator when Wesley had been a baby.  “Uh...”

“You never did, did you?”

“It’s not that I didn’t _want_ to try them, but...I had a small baby.  I ate most of my meals either at my desk in Sickbay or standing up holding a crying Wesley.”  Jean-Luc frowned.  “Have I told you how sorry I am that you had to go through all of that alone?”  Jean-Luc covered her hand with his. “I promise my love, it will be different with Clara Ann.”   Beverly snorted. “Yeah, we’ll have three kids.”  Jean-Luc grinned. “Three of the best kids.  You know, Wesley has been a big help with Katie, I’m sure he’ll help with the baby. He’ll be disappointed at first that it’s not a boy, but I think he’ll get over that quickly.”  Beverly let out a belch.  “Oops.”  Jean-Luc grinned. “Told you it was gas.” Beverly stuck out her tongue.

Jean-Luc moved the tray with their empty plates to the floor and pulled his wife into his arms.  “Now, tell me what has you and Clara unsettled.” 

“I was thinking about Annisyn and everything that happens to a body when it’s deprived of oxygen....do you remember when Jack had his accident?”  Jean-Luc nodded.  “You saw him first. Was he bloated?” 

“A little.  More alarming was the blue tinge that had started to spread.  I thought for sure he would have already been dead.  I know they revived him right there in the airlock before taking him to Sickbay.”  Beverly nodded. “Because you got to him quickly. I think his report said about twenty minutes without oxygen?”

“As best as we could determine based on what Carter had observed and paired with how long it took me to get out to him.” 

“But if you hadn’t gotten out to him....”  A tear rolled down Beverly’s cheek.  “I’ve seen the result of suffocation in space.  It’s not pretty.  And I can’t help but picture our dear sweet Annisyn, bloated and blue...floating around in her pod forever.” 

“Oh, My love.  I’m sorry.  I hadn’t thought what it might be like for you.  What can I do to fix this?”

“Bring Annisyn home?”  Jean-Luc sadly smiled. “I wish I could, my love.  But it’s been over a week since we received her transmission....”  Beverly sniffed. “I know.  If wishes were fishes and all that.”  Jean-Luc kissed the top of her head.  “Let’s try to get some more sleep.  You know Wesley will be in our bed in a few hours, and I’m sure Katie won’t be far behind.”  Beverly snorted. “Wesley will probably show her how to climb out of her cot.  You know, he had perfected climbing out by the time he was two?” 

“I remember I was visiting you once...Wesley was about three, I think?  I was sleeping out on your sofa and all of a sudden Wesley appeared at my elbow with that crooked little smile asking me to play.”  Beverly laughed. “What did you do?”

“What could I do?  Jack was back on the ship, tending to an experiment,” Jean-Luc frowned, realising how that must have been a lie, “and you were asleep.  I carried Wesley back into his room and laid down on his bed with him.” 

“That’s why I found you in his bed that morning! You said you had fallen asleep reading a book to him.” 

“Well, it was partially true.”  Beverly swiped at him. “You were good to me even then.”  He kissed the top of her head.  “It’s because I loved you.” 

###

Across the hall, Abigail was having trouble sleeping, too. Walker was fast on, his soft snores filling the bedroom and Abigail rolled her eyes. She got out of bed and made her way into the living room. After making herself a cup of hot chocolate, then frowning as she remembered many late nights sharing cups of hot chocolate with Annisyn, Abigail sat at her console and dialled her mother.

_“Good evening, sweetheart.”_

“Night, Mom. It’s 0300 here.”  Suzanne grinned at the image of her daughter. “ _Sorry. I never was very good with stellar time cycles.”_ Abigail shrugged.  The time zones on space stations was fairly arbitrary as they were generally a twenty-four hour operation.  But because Abigail’s job had been a steady 0800 to 1600 position, she was used to sleeping on a regular cycle. 

 _“Why are you calling me this late?”_ Abigail sighed. “I can’t sleep, Mom.  I miss...I miss Ann,” s _h_ e said, careful not to use Annisyn’s former name, even if both she and Jack were now deceased. Old habits and all.

_“I know, sweetheart. I miss her too.  I looked forward to her weekly calls as much as I look forward to yours.  How’s Katie?”_

“She’s fine.  I don’t think she really understands what happened.  Beverly and Jean-Luc have told her Ann died, but she’s only two.  Beverly said she wanted to tell Katie the truth right away, because she wasn’t told her parents were dead when they died and it made her mad at her grandmother later.” Suzanne nodded.  _“And Jean-Luc?”_

“Devastated. Mom, he’s so broken.  One of the admirals told him it was a shame when a parent had to bury their child and he nearly lost it.  He’s trying to be strong for the rest of us, but I can see the pain in his eyes..... and Wally isn’t doing too well, either.  He wasn’t as close to Ann as I was, but I think he looked at her like she was a little sister to him, like the way he treats Beverly.”

_“How’s Beverly doing?  With the pregnancy and everything?”_

“ Beverly...she’s just sad, Mom.  She’s excited for the baby, which by the way, she’s positive is going to be a girl, but she has this sad look in her eyes.  Wesley, bless him, Wesley misses Ann, but he just wants to play and have fun and keeps trying to make his parents smile.  He wants to know when we’re going home....and then we have to remind him that home was destroyed.” 

_“What about here?”_

“You mean, La Barre?  Yeah, I guess that’s kind of home for Wes.”

 _“And you, sweetheart?”_ Abigail shrugged at her mother. “I just really miss her, Mom.  Usually if I couldn’t sleep at three in the morning, I could send her a message and if she was up, we’d wind up in one of our quarters drinking hot chocolate and giggling.  She was my best friend, Mom....I really...I really miss her.”  Abigail broke down in tears then, and Suzanne felt helpless as she watched her daughter cry.  She saw a door open behind her, and Walker enter the room, fortunately wearing a pair of shorts. “Ab?  Babe? Are you alright?”  Abigal turned and tried to smile. “Just talking to Mom.” 

Walker came over to the console and bent his head so Suzanne could see him. “Hey Suz.  How go the wedding plans?”  Suzanne raised an eyebrow. “ _I could ask you the same thing, Walker Keel. What’s this you asked my daughter to marry you and then wanted to get married without me present?”_

“Well...ah...Suz...you have to understand...”  Suzanne laughed. _“Oh, the look on your face.  Plans are fine.  I hope to see you all soon.  But Wally....take care of my little girl. She just lost her best friend and I’m too far away to comfort her.”_

“You got it, Suz.  Keel out.”  Walker turned off the screen and pulled Abigail into his arms. “Come on, let’s get you back in bed.”

###

Annisyn was tired.  She didn’t know how much time had passed since she left the room she had been in, but she was tired.  She found a few other rooms with the same slab-like bed, and assumed that was how these beings must sleep.  It wasn’t comfortable, but Annisyn found what appeared to be an unoccupied room and tried to get some sleep.  She rested her head on Mister Wiggles to use him as a pillow and was soon sound asleep. 

She awoke to clicking noises.  Three pink beings were staring down at her, talking to each other.  She held out a hand.  “I don’t understand you.  Please, where is the person who talked to me before?” 

There was more clicking and whirling and one of the beings walked over to a wall panel and started speaking into it, and soon they were joined by a fourth being. 

“Picard, Ann, Lieutenant?” 

“Yes.” 

“I have been looking for you.  This is not your room. This belongs to,” and then he let out a series of clicks and noises before continuing, “You cannot stay here.” 

“I know.  I want to go home.  Please?” 

“Home?”

“Yes! Home.  United Federation of Planets?  Starfleet?”  The pink being bobbed his head. “We know the Federation.” 

“Can you take me to them?  Earth?  Or Starbase thirty-two?  Anywhere in the Federation would be fine.  I can get home from there.”

“No.” Annisyn was getting frustrated.  “No? What do you mean no? Am I your prisoner?” 

“You are not in prison.  We fix ship.  We send home.”  Annisyn’s eyes went wide. “You can fix my escape pod?”

“We can improve it.  Come with me.”  Annisyn shrugged but hopped off the slab and picked up Mister Wiggles and followed the being out of the room and down another corridor.  She was brought into a large cargo bay.  Her sleek, black pod was the only large item in the room, and a dozen of the pink beings were working, both in and out.  Scattered around the pod were some of the items from the pod, and Annisyn reached for her jacket and shoved it on.  Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she probably hadn’t eaten in many days.  She located the box that should have contained a few more bars and pulled one out.  As she chewed, she wondered what she would do for food once she ran out of meal bars. 

“I need food.” 

“Food?” Annisyn waved the bar at the being’s face. “Yeah, you know.  To eat?”

“Eat. Yes.  Follow me.”  Annisyn was unwilling to leave her escape pod, but she shrugged and followed the pink being out of the cargo bay and through the corridors.  She tried to remember how many times they turned left or right so she could get back to her shuttle when she was brought into a room with many long tables.  There was a food slot on the wall, and Annisyn grinned.  Obviously, these things must have interacted with someone from the Federation if they had a replicator.  It even had words in Standard written on it.  She walked up to the replicator and attempted to order something simple.  “Chicken broth.”  To her delight, a bowl of Chicken broth appeared in the slot. 

“You know how to use?”  Annisyn nodded. “Yes.  It’s a Federation food slot. It’s a little old, but it still works.” 

“Your ship didn’t have one.”  Annisyn shook her head. “My ship was an escape pod, for an emergeny.” She took a slow sip of the broth, thinking about Beverly and how Beverly would advise her to take small sips to not upset her empty stomach. 

“You want to use?”

“Want what?” 

“This.”  Annisyn nodded. “It would make it easier if I could replicate some food and water to take with me before I leave. Do you know how far away we are from Federation space?”

“Very far.”  Annisyn frowned. She was afraid of that.

###

Beverly walked into her bedroom and paused.  Both children were at school, and Jean-Luc was supposed to be in his temporary office with Walker, sorting out more transfers for his crew.  Jean-Luc was standing in front of the long  window staring out at the stars, and she could see in his reflection the tear tracks running down his face.  Jean-Luc’s shoulders shook in silent sobs, and Beverly wanted nothing more than to stride over to him, pull him into her, and tell him it was okay to cry...but she knew better.  Her husband didn’t want her or the children, or Walker or Abigail to see him vulnerable.  As Captain, he would feel that it was his job to keep everything running as normal. 

Beverly let out a quiet sigh and slowly backed out of the room.  She would let him have his moment, but she would speak with him later.  She walked backwards to the door to their quarters and slid open the door, and made a lot of unnecessary noise re-entering their quarters to get his attention.  She acted surprised when he came out of the bedroom, walked over to her, and pulled her into a kiss.  She threaded her fingers in his fringe and deeply kissed him, pouring all of her love into one single kiss. 


	10. Chapter 10

“Jean-Luc, Beverly, glad you both made it,” Admiral Quinn took Beverly’s hands in his and held his arms out wide.  “You look gorgeous, darling. Absolutely glowing.”  Beverly blushed. “Thank you, Gregory.  How are Adele and the children?” 

“They’re all fine on Earth.”  Jean-Luc frowned.  Was his old friend going to try to convince Beverly to return to Earth with the children?  He hoped not.  He and Beverly would both resign before they would be split up.

“Glad to hear.  I take it this isn’t a social visit though?”  Quinn shook his head. “Please, Beverly, Jean-Luc, have a seat.”  Jean-Luc levelled a gaze at his old friend. “Greg, what’s this all about?” 

“I have a proposition for the two of you.” Jean-Luc raised his eyebrows.  “A proposition?”   Quinn nodded.  “Beverly, how far along are you?”

“Just under four months.  We’re hoping to have the inquiry finished before I go on maternity leave as we’d like to be on Earth in Jean-Luc’s hometown when I have the baby.”  Quinn nodded. 

“That’s fine.  I’m sure it won’t be much longer.  Now, Jean-Luc, have you given any more thought to joining the diplomatic corps?” 

“I have, Greg.  And I’m afraid my answer is no.  I don’t want to be separated from my wife and children, and you have to admit, Beverly is not the type of woman who would support her husband’s career at the expense of her own.” 

“No, she isn’t. And that’s why I have a unique opportunity for the both of you.”  Jean-Luc and Beverly exchanged a look and turned back to Quinn before he continued. “Sarcalucent.” 

“The planetary system?”  Quinn nodded.  “Sarcalucent is governed by a Prince, and as such, he has requested we send...for lack of a better word, royalty.” 

“Sir, I will not be used as an escort for the King of England or the Queen of Sweden. Besides, these are ceremonial titles.  They mean nothing today.”  Quinn’s eyes glinted. “I wasn’t thinking about sending a king or queen.  I was thinking about sending a Comte...and a Comtesse?”  Quinn gave them a knowing look.

“No.  I refuse.  Besides, what does this have to do with Beverly?”

“I thought you’d ask me that.  It seems as though Starfleet Medical is in need of someone to tour Sarcalucent’s hospitals.  And what better than the Chief Medical Officer of one of our ships? Say, a CMO without a ship to serve on?”  Beverly blushed.  “Greg, you know that Jean-Luc only appointed me his CMO because Greyhorse is missing.  I’m not....I’m just an assistant.” 

“Don’t sell yourself short, Beverly.  I’ve read your reports on reforming the treatment of female patients. It was excellent and has given Starfleet Medical a lot to think about. In fact...Once your maternity leave is over, I am fairly confident they will ask you to head up the taskforce while we work on finding your husband a new ship to command.”

“I....” Jean-Luc reached out for Beverly’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “You have to understand, Greg.  The loss of Ann has hit us all hard.  I was actually considering asking you for some compassionate leave for a few weeks...at least so we could organize a memorial for Ann on Earth with the rest of our family.” 

“One month.”

“I’m sorry?”

“You may have a month of compassionate leave, then I expect you and your lovely wife and children to be on board the _Excelsior_ and headed to Sarcalucent.  I will even provide a nanny for you to look after the children whilst you and Beverly are both occupied.”

“And after we do this ‘favour’ for you?”  Jean-Luc eyed his old friend.  He knew how to play the game.  One favour would lead to another and another.  Greg chuckled.  “Let’s see how long this one takes.  I assume when Beverly goes on maternity leave, you will be requesting paternity leave as well?”  Jean-Luc nodded. “And then, we would prefer to serve together. If you can’t give me a ship, then I am willing to take up a teaching position at the Academy until you _can_ give me a ship. Because I intend to fly again, Greg.  Make no mistake about that.  But I also won’t command a ship without my family with me, and not without my wife on board as my CMO.” 

“You drive a hard bargain, Jean-Luc.” 

“Oh, what about Walker Keel and Abigail Yugen?”

“Ah, yes. Walker and his fiancée, Wesley’s former teacher.”  Jean-Luc nodded. “I’m going to assign Walker to oversee the building  of a new ship at McKinley.  Lieutenant Yugen will, naturally, be permitted to request reassignment to a Starfleet school on Earth.” 

“I see.”  Jean-Luc rubbed his hands together. “Well, then I see we have no choice but to accept.  I’d like to request the use of my yacht once more to transport my family back to Earth for the next month.” 

“Granted.  I understand Walker and Abigail were close to your daughter too.  They may have compassionate leave as well.”

“Thanks Greg.  It’s appreciated.”  Beverly’s stomach gurgled loud enough for Jean-Luc to hear.  “Now, if you’ll please excuse us, I believe my wife is hungry.” 

###

Annisyn crawled back into her escape pod.  The pink people, as she started calling them in her head had fixed her navigation system and her comms system.  She used their food slot and replicated more jugs of water than she would possibly need and plenty of meal replacement bars.  They had also managed to refill her Oxygen tanks, and as long as she reached federation space within 4 weeks, she would be fine.  She used her starcharts and figured out she was only about two weeks away from Federation space, where she hoped to reach a passing ship to gain passage back to a starbase or planet.  She debated trying to reach her father, but she didn’t want him to get his hopes up or worry. No, best to get back into federation space, then find out where her family was. 

“Can you tell me your names?”

“We are the,” and then she was greeted with a series of clicks and noises.  Clearly, their name wasn’t translatable.  “Who do I say you were? Do you have a name in Standard?”

“No.”

“What planet are you from?”  Another series of clicks and whistles.  “No one is going to believe me.  Can I at least take a picture of you?” 

“No.”

“Alright. Well....thanks for all your help....” Annisyn crawled back into her escape pod and they launched her out into space. _I’ll have to ask Suz to draw what I describe. Maybe Papa will know who these people were._   Annisyn checked her navigation and pointed herself in the direction of Federation space.  She set an SOS message to broadcast constantly and hoped someone heard her soon.

The pink people had even managed to fix her chair so she could recline it into a bed, and so she pulled Mister Wiggles against her in a hug and drifted off to sleep with a smile on her face.  She was alive, and she would see her family.

###

“Robe, she’s gone.  I know,”  Jean-Luc sniffed and took another swig of the Whisky, “I know she wasn’t really my daughter  and she was only my daughter for three years, but...she was still my girl.”  Robert patted his brother’s arm knowingly.  Annisyn had captured his heart as well in the short amount of time she had been part of their family. 

“I’m going to miss her too, Lucy. But she left us a wonderful gift.  Katie.”  Jean-Luc grinned.  When they arrived in La Barre, he had Katie on his hip and she immediately wanted down so she could run to “Unc Rawb” to ask him to pick her up.  “That she did.  I just wish she was still here with us.  I hope she died knowing....knowing we loved her.” 

“I’m sure she does.  Have you decided if we’re having a service for her?”

“I wasn’t going to, but then one of her friends from the ship asked me, so I think I would like to have a memorial service for her. Maybe in..three weeks? I can notify my crew and this gives them time to arrange for transportation.” 

“What about the rest of your fallen crew?  Are you going to do anything for them?” 

“No, that’s up to their family members. If the hold any services, I will attend as their commanding officer, but it’s not up to me to arrange those.  Just....just Annisyn.”   Robert refilled their glasses and held his up in the air. “To Ann Picard,  our sweet princess.”  Jean-Luc gave a watery smile and clinked glasses with his brother, downed his drink, and then stood.  “I don’t know about you, but if I don’t come up to bed soon I’m going to have a very angry pregnant woman yelling at me for drinking.”

Robert grinned back at his brother. “You and me both.  I can’t believe our wives are pregnant at the same time.” 

“That reminds me...are you _sure_ you want us all living here?  Beverly and I don’t mind moving our family into the cottage.” 

“Don’t be stupid.  This is your house, too.  Do you like the additions to the apartment?”  Jean-Luc nodded. “Beverly can’t believe how it turned out.  Three additional bedrooms?  I never realised how much room we had up there unused.”

“Neither had I until I called a contractor to come look at it.  Plenty of space for your family.” 

“Thanks Robert. It means a lot to us.”

###

“I’ve cancelled the wedding.”  Abigail exchanged  a look with Beverly as they settled onto the sofa in the small cottage Suzanne had been using.  Suzanne was supposed to be marrying Jean-Luc’s childhood friend, Louis, in three months. 

“I just don’t think it’s appropriate right now to have a celebration.  Not with....”  Beverly reached out and patted Suzanne’s hand. “Suz,  do you love Louis?”  She nodded. “I do.  I never knew I could fall in love again...it had been so long since a man really loved me. I was slow to admit it...”

“I think Annisyn would have wanted us all to carry on.  She wouldn’t want us to sit around feeling sorry for ourselves.” Abigail snorted. “Have you spoken to your own husband?  Jean-Luc’s been an absolute wet blanket lately!” Beverly gave a wry grin.  “I know.  I don’ think he realised how much he enjoyed having a daughter.  It’s made him regret not having children sooner, and then he feels badly because he thinks that means that he wouldn’t be with me...” Beverly rested her hands on her small 15 week bump. 

“And then you wouldn’t have Clara Ann on the way,” Abigail finished for her friend.

“Clara Ann?”

“The baby, Mom.  Bev is sure it’s a girl and she and Jean-Luc named her Clara Ann.”  Suzanne smiled.  “I like it, Beverly.”

“Thanks. So you see, it sends Jean-Luc down a spiral path.  If he had children when he was younger, he might not have fallen in love with me, he might not have had Annisyn in his life, Wesley wouldn’t be his son, Katie wouldn’t be his granddaughter, and we wouldn’t be pregnant!”

“That’s quite the....well, I’m not sure what to call it.  Do you think Jean-Luc will be ok?”  Beverly nodded. “With time.  He and Robert are spending some time together today in the vines. I think it will do him some good.”  Suzanne nodded in agreement with her friend.  While she herself didn’t grow up with real siblings,  she knew how it felt to spend time with Walker when everything felt like it was going wrong.  She looked over at her daughter, resplendent with her engagement ring.  “And where’s that future son-in-law of mine?”  

“With Wesley.  We’re going to take turns giving Wesley lessons.  Since Abigail is on leave too, it didn’t seem right to put the burden of education all on her.  Today is Walker’s day.  Goodness knows what they’ll be up to.”  Abigail laughed. “Knowing Wes, he’ll have taken something apart and Walker will explain how it all works. Let’s just hope it’s not a phaser.”

“Again,”  Beverly added. 

“Again?” 

“Oh, yes. Wesley is fond of taking thing apart if you leave them out....or if you don’t, in the case of the antique phaser he took apart several years ago.  It was before Jean-Luc and I were together.  I was still married to Jack...Jack was not impressed, let me tell you.”  Suzanne grinned. “But Jean-Luc was?” 

“Yep.  Went out and bought him a junior engineering kit the next day!”   Suzanne and Abigail both laughed. 

“And where is the darling Katie?” 

“Napping, I hope.  Marie told me to leave her and she would look in on her and I made her promise to let me know the minute she woke up.” 

“Mom, go and talk to Louis.  Tell him you’ll marry him.  I’m going to go see what Walker and Wesley are up to.”  Suzanne smiled at her daughter. “I suppose you’re right.  Go on, I’ll go see Louis.” 

###

“Uncle Wally, what’s a diplomat?”  Wesley was swinging on the swing in the garden with Walker supervising. 

“Well, Wes, it’s a person who....” Walker searched for words the eight-year-old would understand, then remembered he was talking with Wesley.  “A diplomat is someone who represents their planet or organisation.  They’re able to speak....rationally.  Do you know what that word means?”

“Uh-huh.  Mommy tells me not to be irrational sometimes.  So I guess rational is the opposite of irrational?”  Walker nodded.  It was as good of  definition as any.  “Right. So your papa is going to be a diplomat and he will represent Starfleet and the Federation on Sarcalucent.”

“Sar...ka....loo....cent.”  Wesley slowly said the name of the system they would be in.  “Uncle Wally, are you coming too?”  Walker shook his head. “I’m sorry, Wes.  Admiral Quinn wants to put me in charge of the building of a new ship.”  Wesley frowned. “Oh. Our new ship?”

“I don’t know kid, maybe,”  Walker ruffled Wesley’s hair.  “Uncle Wally, I don’t know if I want to go on a ship again.” 

“Why not?”  Wesley stopped his swinging and looked at his uncle.  “What if it crashes again?” 

“Wesley...that was an accident.  We didn’t know we would be attacked.  But we got out.  We’re safe.  _You’re_ safe.” 

“Annie wasn’t.  Annie died.”  Walker frowned. “Wesley...is that what you’re afraid of?” 

“Uh-huh. Daddy Jack died and Annie died.  What if Mommy and Papa dies?”  

“They won’t....or well....alright, we all die eventually, but I promise you your mom and papa don’t plan on dying any time soon. Alright?” 

“But what if they do?”

“Well, then, I guess you’ll just have to come live with me then.” 

###

 _“_ USS Maldova _to Stargazer Escape Pod.  Is anyone there?”_   Annisyn was roused from her slumber by the words that boomed in her pod. 

“YES!”  Annisyn said with a shout. “ _USS Maldova,_ this is Lieutenant Ann Picard.  Can you help me?”

_“Putting a tractor beam on you now.  We should have you on board in twenty minutes.”_

“Thank you!!!”  Annisyn grinned and picked up Mister Wiggles and hugged him tight. “Oh, Mister Wiggles, we might get you back to Wesley after all!” 

_“I’m sorry, Lieutenant?  Can you repeat that?”_

“What?  Oh, No. Sorry. I was only talking to myself.”

_“Bringing you into the shuttle bay now. Do you require medical attention?”_

“No...er...I don’t know?”

_“Medical standing by.”_

Annisyn’s pod was opened and she was greeted by three human Starfleet officers all in the new style of uniform.  “Welcome aboard, Lieutenant Picard.  I’m Captain Shirl, this is my first officer, Commander Park, and our doctor, Doctor Wheeler.” 

“Hello.”

“I’m quite interested to hear how you’ve managed to survive for so long. The _Stargazer_ crashed almost two months ago, but first, I think you had better get looked over by the doctor.  Picard, did you say?  Are you related to..?”

“He’s my father.  Please, could I contact him? Or my step-mother?  Are they on Starbase thirty-two? Can you take me to them?”  Captain Shirl shook her head. “I’m sorry, Lieutenant.  Captain Picard is on a leave of absence with no contact with Starfleet.  He won’t be back for three weeks. And we have to get you reinstated.  Your father...Captain Picard...had you declared dead based off a transmission he received from you?”  Annisyn paled. “I....oh no!  Papa must be devastated....and Beverly....and my little brother! I have to get his bear back to him and....my daughter,”  Annisyn whispered out the last words, realising that she, once again, had failed to even think about how her absence was affecting her child.

“How old is your daughter?” 

“Uh....two.  She’s two.  Her father....her father passed away while I was pregnant with her.”  Annisyn let the little lie slip out.  Besides,  Jack had abandoned her when she was pregnant, which was close enough.

“I’m sorry for your loss.  This shouldn’t take long at all.  Let’s get you looked over by medical, then come see me in my Ready Room and we’ll get you reinstated.  Do you know where Captain Picard might go?”  She nodded. “Home.  Uhm...France.”

“On Earth?” Annisyn nodded. “Well, you’re in luck.  I was about to dispatch one of my shuttles  in  that direction.  We can get you as far as Starbase twelve. From there, I’m sure you can arrange passage. But first,  please accompany Doctor Wheeler to Sickbay.”  Annisyn nodded, and reached into the shuttle and pulled out the bear. Captain Shirl raised an eyebrow. “My little brother’s bear.  He...he didn’t have it when we evacuated and I went back for it.  I don’t want to lose it.”

“No, of course not.”

Doctor Wheeler scanned Annisyn and gave her a puzzled look. “You’re fine. I don’t understand it.  You shouldn’t have had enough oxygen to last for two months, yet here you are.” 

“I, ah, had a little help.  These aliens picked me up and fixed my pod and helped me.” 

“And they wanted nothing in return?”  Annisyn shook her head. “Well, let’s hope they never come back asking for a favour.”  Doctor Wheeler patted her leg.  “Clean bill of health, Lieutenant.” 

“Thanks.”

“Do you mind if I decontaminate your companion?” 

“My companion?”  Doctor Wheeler indicated the bear. “Oh,  Wesley’s bear. Yes, I mean, No. I don’t mind.  I don’t want to give Wesley back a dirty bear.”

“Your brother’s name is Wesley?”  Annisyn nodded.  “He’s....well, I guess he’s eight now.  I missed his birthday.”

“I’m sure he’ll understand and be overjoyed to see you again. Were you close to him?” 

“Not as...not as close as I’d like.  But he and Katie, my daughter, are practically siblings....”  She trailed off, lost in thought. If she was declared dead, then perhaps her father and Beverly adopted Katie and she would really be Wesley’s sister.  Perhaps that would be best, if Katie was raised by them and if she just...went away.  But would it be right to continue to let her family think she was dead?  She had a lot to think about.

Annisyn pressed the chime outside Captain Shirl’s ready room and was beckoned inside.  “Ah, Lieutenant.  I’ve done a bit more digging for you.  It seems you were placed on the list of the missing as soon as the survivors from the _Stargazer_ reached Starbase thirty-two-“

“Did my family survive?  Papa...Captain Picard? Doctor Picard?  Wesley?  Katie?”  Captain Shirl nodded. “No Picards on the list.” 

“What about Commander Keel and Lieutenant Yugen?” 

“Nope, they aren’t on this list either.” Annisyn visibly relaxed.  “That’s a relief.”

“Yes, well.  I have a copy of your personal log here that the Captain filed with Starfleet.  You stated you were going to run out of oxygen in two weeks and you stated you wanted the Captain and his wife to take custody of your daughter, is this correct?” Annisyn nodded. “Yes.  The computer in my shuttle calculated my oxygen and I felt it was best to leave a legally binding order as I felt Katie would be best raised by her grandparents.”

“That was actually a stroke of genius on your part.  If you hadn’t left directions, your daughter would have been taken into custody of Starfleet and your parents would have had to have fought to get her returned to them.”  Annisyn nodded, remembering her early years as an orphan. “Yes.  That happened to me after my mother died.  My father....he didn’t know about me and I was pushed into an orphanage.  I didn’t want that to happen to Katie.”

“I’m not your Captain, so I can’t order you to report, but I am curious...how did you survive?” 

“I don’t think you would believe me if I told you.”

“Try me.”


	11. Chapter 11

“I’m fine, Beverly.”  Jean-Luc stalked across to the other end of their attic apartment and went out the door onto the small balcony Robert had added for them to look at the setting sun. 

“You’re not.”  Beverly stared at her husband’s back.  “Jean-Luc.  Talk to me,” in a quieter voiced she added, “please?”  Jean-Luc whipped around and glared at his wife. “I told you, I’m FINE!” 

“I’d say you’re not, but I already tried that route. So, if you’re fine, why are you yelling at me?”  Beverly placed her hands on her hips. 

“I...”  Jean-Luc’s face visibly fell as he realised he had just raised his voice at the one person he promised he never would.  He fell to his knees and covered his face as a sob wracked his body.  “Beverly, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.  Please, forgive me.”  Beverly walked over to Jean-Luc and patted his shoulder. “I’d get down on the floor with you, but I’m not sure I’d get back up.”  Jean-Luc cracked a smile and pulled Beverly down to him.  “I love you,”  he sobbed into her neck.

“I love you too.  Will you tell me what’s wrong?” 

“I just can’t get over losing Annisyn. Every morning, when I look at Katie, it all comes rushing back.  Annisyn was....I know she wasn’t my daughter, not really, but at the same time she was...”

“She was part of our family.  She even shares some DNA with you, remember?”  Jean-Luc cupped Beverly’s cheek. “How could I forget?  That was such a happy day, knowing that we were in fact somehow related.”  Beverly leaned in and brushed his tears away.  “I know this feeling isn’t going to go away in a few hours, weeks, or months....but please, Jean-Luc...don’t shut me out.” 

Jean-Luc kissed Beverly’s forehead. “I promise, my love. I will never shut you out.”  He kissed her lips then, and Beverly opened her mouth and let him deepen his kiss.  He laid her back on the rug and she laughed.  “Not on the floor!”

“Where else do you suggest I ravish my wife?”  He kissed down her jaw and slid his fingers under her shirt.  Beverly put her hands on his face and tugged him so he was looking her in the eye. “You need this, don’t you?”

“I need you.”  Beverly covered his mouth with hers and tugged at his clothing.  They were lying on the floor, half inside the doorway to the balcony when they made love.  Jean-Luc  sobbed into Beverly’s breasts as they each sought their release.

###

Jean-Luc was roused from his sleep by a scream echoing from the floor below.  He bolted upright and Beverly was already passing him his dressing gown.  “Wesley,”  she whispered. 

“You go check on Wes, I’ll make sure he didn’t wake Katie.”  Beverly nodded and Jean-Luc headed into Katie’s bedroom.  Fortunately, the toddler was still fast asleep sucking on the ear of a pink rabbit.  Jean-Luc chuckled and gently pulled the ear out of her mouth.  He ran a finger down her cheek before quietly closing the door behind him and heading down the stairs to his old bedroom, now Wesley’s room whenever they were home.  Home.  Jean-Luc liked being able to call La Barre home once again.  He entered Wesley’s room and Wesley was crying into Beverly’s shoulder. 

“Wes, what’s wrong?” 

“No, Papa, go away, I don’t want you in here right now!”  Jean-Luc raised his eyebrows at his wife who merely inclined her head towards the bed where there was a wet stain spreading across the sheet.  Wesley had wet the bed, something he had hadn’t done in years.  Jean-Luc walked over to the bed and detangled Wesley from his mother’s arms.  “Wesley, are you afraid I’m going to be mad at you?”  Wesley nodded.  “I’m not.  Come on, let’s get you changed.  Do you want to tell me about the nightmare?” 

“No.  I was scared.”  Jean-Luc nodded as he tugged the pyjama top off Wesley and indicated for the boy to pull off his bottoms.  Jean-Luc rummaged in the drawer and found a clean set of pyjamas and helped Wesley into them before balling up the soiled PJs and tossing them into the hamper along with the sheet.  Jean-Luc picked up a corner of the mattress and flipped it over to the dry side and helped Beverly put the clean bedding on.  “There. Good as new.” 

“Mommy, Papa...what happens if you die?” 

Beverly sat down on the edge of Wesley’s bed and pulled him onto her lap. “What do you mean?”

“Uncle Wally said if you and Papa die, I would live with him.”  Jean-Luc had a puzzled look on his face as he sat down next to Beverly and Wesley wiggled his way onto his lap.  “Why would he say that?”

“Because I asked him.”

“I see.  Wesley, nothing is going to happen to me or Mommy.  But if something does happen, your mother and I both have wills made out that state if anything happens to both of us, your Uncle Wally would become your guardian.  Is that ok?” 

“Why can’t I live here?” 

“With Tante Marie and Oncle Robert?”  Wesley nodded. “Well...I guess we hadn’t really thought about that possibility.  But look, Wes, _nothing_ is going to happen to us.  I promise.” 

“Annie died.”  Beverly frowned.  “Wesley, sweetheart, are you still having bad dreams about the _Stargazer?”_ Wesley slowly nodded.  Beverly smoothed down his hair.  “Is that what happened tonight? Did it scare you?”

“Mommy, I’m sorry.” 

“Shh, nothing to be sorry about. Do you want to tell Papa and I about your nightmare?”   he shook his head.  “But can I come sleep with you tonight?” 

“I suppose.  Come on, let’s go back to bed.” 

Wesley snuggled in between his parents and soon had his eyes closed.  Jean-Luc puzzled over what had happened earlier.  Why hadn’t Wes wanted him in the room?  He should have known he wouldn’t have yelled over wetting the bed. He'd yelled at Beverly earlier in the day and only noticed when she'd pointed it out, had he yelled at Wesley and not realised it?  A tear leaked down his face and he scooted closer.  He spoke in a low whisper.  “What are we going to do?” 

“About Wes?”

“Yes.  I can’t stand...I hate seeing him like this, Bev.   I thought his bad dreams would fade, but he’s still having them....I feel like a failure as a father.”  Tears leaked out of Jean-Luc’s eyes as he gazed down on his sleeping son.  “You’re not a failure.  Wesley is just scared. The nightmares aren’t your fault.

“No, but...oh my boy.  My sweet boy who shouldn’t have nightmares about ships catching fire and his sister dying...or us dying.  Beverly, where is this all coming from?” 

“I don’t know.”  Jean-Luc’s tears fell as he continued to watch Wesley sleep.  “I’m sorry, Wesley.” He pressed a gentle kiss to the back of Wesley's head. "I'm so sorry, my boy."

He let his tears flow freely, quiet sobs shaking his body. He'd failed them. In trying to be the strong captain, he'd failed at being a father and husband. Beverly stroked her hand gently over his shoulder and down his arm, letting him release the sorrow.

 "Papa?" Wesley turned over and touched one of the tears streaking down Jean-Luc's cheek. “Why are you sorry, Papa?”  Wesley patted Jean-Luc’s et cheek. “Why are you crying? Are you sad?” 

“Yes, Wes.  I’m sad.” 

“I’m sad too, but...I didn’t want you to see me cry.”  Jean-Luc frowned.

“Why not?”

“You don’t cry.”  Jean-Luc’s frown got deeper.  “It’s ok to cry, Wes.  I guess I was just trying to be the Captain and not your papa by not crying.” 

“Oh. So it’s ok to cry?”  Jean-Luc nodded. “Yes.  It’s ok to cry and be sad.”  Jean-Luc kissed Wesley’s forehead. “Now, get some sleep.” 

Beverly softly smiled at their interaction, then leaned over Wesley to plant a kiss on Jean-Luc.  “I love you.”

###

Abigail and Walker were strolling hand in hand through the village. The late Summer sun warmed their backs, and Abigail took a deep breath of fresh air.  “How can it be so mild here in September? It would be starting to get chilly back home.”  

“Ah,  but France is farther South from Connecticut.”   Abigail frowned and laughed at herself.  “I should know these things, I’m a teacher for gods sake.”  Walker laughed . “Speaking of teaching, do you know where your new assignment is?  I figure I can live anywhere and beam up to McKinley.”

“Actually, I’ll be teaching close to Starfleet Headquarters.  There’s a school on the campus for the children of the higher ups. I’ll be teaching admirals’ kids.” 

“Snazzy. I’m very proud of you.  I suppose I’ll put in for joint quarters for us somewhere on campus?” Walker winked at his fiancée. “Yeah, alright. When do you want to get married?”

“Soon?  You know, Jean-Luc _could_ do it when we get back on the shuttle...”  He twirled her around and kissed her fingers. 

“I want Mom there.  Besides, she should have her wedding first, don’t you think?” 

“Is she going through with it?  I thought she had decided to break it off?”  Abigail grinned. “Bev and I convinced her Annisyn would want her to be happy.  The wedding is still on. It’s in four months.  Bev is worried about going into labour at the wedding!”  Walker chuckled. “Knowing her, she’ll make that baby wait until after the ceremony.  What if we get married in...six months?” 

“I suppose I could plan a wedding in that time.  Where?  Here?  Or in Connecticut?”  Walker leaned over and kissed her nose. “Wherever you’d like, sweetheart.”  

“I want Beverly to be my matron of honour . No maid...that would have been Annisyn.  Wesley can be the ring bearer, and Katie can be the flower girl....I assume you’ll want Jean-Luc as your best man?”  Walker nodded.  “Then let’s have it here.  Everyone we love is here....except my best friend.”  Abigail frowned as her tears flowed again. She felt like all she had been doing lately was cry.  Walker led her over to a bench and sat them down and pulled her against him.  “I know.  I understand. Just cry. It’ll make you feel better.”

###

Jean-Luc was back out in the vines with Robert.  He used to hate it when he was a child, walking through the vines daily, checking the bunches, tying up the heavier, heaving bunches, clipping the dead bunches, making sure the vines had enough water...it was tedious work, and he hated it. But now, he revelled in it.  The heady scent of grapes mixed with earth filled his nostrils as he worked side-by-side with his brother.  Harvest was in a few weeks.  Jean-Luc would probably be off on his diplomatic mission by then, so he thought he would help his brother as much as possible now.  Plus, it was a distraction.  He didn’t have to think about Annisyn when he was out in the vines.  It wasn’t very fair on Beverly  - leaving her with both children, but she had understood Jean-Luc needed this time with his brother.  Besides, she and Marie were busy comparing notes on their pregnancies, Marie being due four short weeks before Beverly. 

Jean-Luc tied off another heavy bunch and he pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat off his face when Robert plunked a floppy hat on his head.

“Here. It’ll keep the sun out of your head and it will protect that head of yours from getting burned.”  Jean-Luc’s eyes glinted with mirth. “Are you making comments about my hairline, _older_ brother?” 

“I might be. I notice that the starship captain has less hair on his head than his older brother!”  Robert roared with laughter and Jean-Luc tried to glare but soon dissolved into chuckles.  “Got me there, Robert.”

The brothers fell into silence working on opposite sides of the row and the air was filled with the sound of snipping, and twine being tied.  “Do you remember complaining about doing this when we were kids?” 

“I remember father would never let us eat any of the grapes. Fortunately, I’m a bit more lenient,” Robert said, plucking a grape off and popping it in his mouth.  “That’s good, because grapes happen to be Wesley’s favourite snack food.” 

“Perhaps I should plant a row of grapes for eating next season?”  Jean-Luc grinned. “Advisable.  Considering we’ll have four children between us by next year.” 

“Four children.  Jean-Luc, can you remember when we thought the vineyard would die with us?” 

“There’s no guarantee any of our children will want to take over the vineyard, you know.  Wesley wants to become a Starship Captain like me...or at least he did, before the accident.” 

“We heard his scream last night.  Is he alright?”  Jean-Luc turned to look at his brother and Robert put down his tools.  “He’s....I don’t know.  He’s having nightmares, almost night terrors.  I know he was evacuated before the fires start, but he dreams about the ship on fire, sometimes he says he dreams of Annisyn on fire, and one time Beverly and I were on fire.  He wet his bed last night.  He hadn’t done that in years.” 

“Poor mite.  What can I do to help?”

“I don’t even know what _I_ can do to help him. I’m going to talk to Marska when we get back and see if she has any ideas.” 

“Marska is Beverly’s friend who was helping our Anna?”  Jean-Luc nodded. “She’s a Starfleet Psychologist.  And since she knows our family and knows the situation, I’d rather ask her for help over a stranger.”

“Makes sense.”  Robert turned back to his row.  “You know, Jean-Luc,  it’ll be good to have you and Beverly and the children living here.”  Jean-Luc smiled. “Thanks, Robert.  It really means a lot to me that you want us around...”

“Lucy, I’ve always wanted you around.  I just was bad at telling you.  Thank goodness our wives managed to talk some sense into us.”  Jean-Luc grinned. “I’ll drink to that.”  He took a swig of his canteen filled with cool water and passed it over to Robert. 

Jean-Luc heard the faint zing of a transporter beam and he quirked an eyebrow. He wasn’t expecting anyone from Starfleet to arrive for a few more days, and he didn’t think Walker or Abigail had gone anywhere.  On the horizon, he saw a person appear in the light beam and then begin walking towards the house slowly.  He stood up and squinted.  “Annisyn,” he breathed out.  Robert clutched at his brother. “Don’t be silly.  It’s probably one of her friends who hadn’t realised what day we were holding the memorial.”  Jean-Luc studied the figure’s gait and when she got closer, Robert gasped.

“Jean-Luc, am I seeing things?”

“No, Robe.”  Jean-Luc took off his hat and started walking to the figure, who increased their speed until they were running towards Jean-Luc.  Jean-Luc ran and when he finally reached her, he picked her up and twirled her around and placed a kiss on her forehead. “Annisyn?” 

“Yeah, Papa.  It’s me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look for the next story in A Tangled Web, Choices, coming soon!


End file.
